INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -The Indianapolis Colts would like to keep safeties Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea around one more year, and they’re also still hoping to work out a deal with defensive captain Gary Brackett.
As the Colts raced against a Thursday night deadline to keep Brackett off the free agent market, they were busy meeting another deadline by extending official offers to other key contributors.
Indy gave Bullitt a second-round tender, agent Leonard Roth confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The Colts did not have any comment.
Bullitt has become an increasingly important cog in the Colts defense, starting in place of the oft-injured Bob Sanders. In 2008, he had two interceptions to seal victories and last year, with Sanders unable to play in 14 games, Bullitt wound up fifth on the team with 72 tackles. He also made the fourth-down stop against New England that gave Peyton Manning a chance to rally the Colts in the final two minutes.
rlier in the day, ESPN.com reported that Bethea had been given a first-round tender. He has played in two Pro Bowls, including this season when he was chosen as an alternate.
But there was no update negotiations between Brackett’s agent, Brian Mackler, and the Colts. Brackett was not given the franchise or transition tags last week, which could have virtually assured that he would stay in Indy.
If the Colts cannot agree on a new deal before midnight, Brackett would become an unrestricted free agent – something team president Bill Polian would like to avoid.
Brackett isn’t the only one in limbo.
The Colts decided not to offer contracts to cornerback Tim Jennings, safety Aaron Francisco and backup offensive linemen Dan Federkeil. The players’ agents all confirmed the decisions in e-mails to The Associated Press, and all three players will now become unrestricted free agents.
The Colts would not be compensated for losing those players to another team.
Jennings played primarily in nickel packages last season and was ninth on the team with 51 tackles. Francisco played primarily on special teams after being claimed off of waivers from Arizona in September.
Indy still has eight other restricted free agents including starting defensive tackles Dan Muir and Antonio Johnson and left tackle Charlie Johnson.
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