INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Kelvin Hayden’s new $43 million deal could finally break things open for his unsigned teammates.
With nearly a dozen more players ready to hit the free-agent market next week, new Colts coach Jim Caldwell acknowledged Thursday that Hayden’s five-year deal could have a domino effect on what happens next.
Three-time Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday would likely be the next target.
Then comes Dominic Rhodes, who led Indy with six rushing TDs last season and was a key component in their championship run. After that it could be linebackers Tyjuan Hagler and Freddy Keiaho, punter Hunter Smith or defensive end Josh Thomas, all of whom have been at least part-time starters the past two seasons.
other players, including record-setting receiver Marvin Harrison.
One option to clear salary cap space to sign the others would be releasing Harrison, who has the highest cap number of any receiver in the NFL. It’s not something Caldwell wants to do.
“What I saw is a guy as quick as he’s been, with the same hands and he has the ability he’s always had,” Caldwell said of Harrison. “We’ve not seen a guy with diminishing skills.”
The problem is Harrison is coming off one of the least productive seasons in his 13-year career, and the Colts could save about $6 million by cutting him.
Plus, the Colts have more pressing needs – like signing Saturday and other veterans.
“My mindset is that he (Saturday) is still with us and that’s what I’m going to go by until further notice,” Caldwell said Thursday, during the NFL’s annual scouting combine. “That’s the tack we’re going to take.”
That should be good news for Saturday, whose future with the team has been in question since last April, when the Colts drafted three centers.
Saturday has repeatedly said the Colts promised to bring him back, but team president Bill Polian made it clear last week that Hayden’s situation needed to be resolved first.
With the deal done, everything else should fall in line.
of the most affable players in the locker room and a fan favorite in Indy, Saturday declined to comment about contract negotiations following an NFL Players Association meeting in Indianapolis.
The Colts got a glimpse of what life without Saturday, who has been the security blanket for three-time MVP Peyton Manning on the offensive line, might look like early last season.
Without Saturday, the Colts offense struggled – in part because of Saturday’s absence and in part because Manning was still recovering from surgery to remove a bursa sac in his left knee.
That’s one reason the Colts want Saturday back even though others have started to write him off.
“You’re beginning to act like he’s already gone, and I anticipate having him back,” Caldwell said. “He’s a very important part of our offense.”
Caldwell didn’t address the other unsigned veterans, and Smith, whose agent said Wednesday the Colts will let him test the free agent market.
Polian has said he wants all of the veterans back though it is unlikely because this is the toughest salary cap squeeze the Colts have endured in Polian’s tenure, which began in 1998.
Whatever happens, Caldwell is moving forward.
“We have to be realistic in what we’re trying to do,” he said.
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