Colts' Most Likely Cap Casualties Revealed

The Indianapolis Colts will have some interesting decisions to make across the course of this offseason. Whether those choices be made for free agency, the draft, or just within general personnel moves on the roster, it should be a busy next few months for Chris Ballard and Co.

Among those decisions to make, enforcing a cap casualty or two is usually a part of the offseason every NFL team usually goes through. The Colts are no different, and could even have a few prime candidates on their roster who could be gearing up to be on their way out based on underlying financial circumstances.

The biggest player who comes to mind on the Colts' roster might be veteran tackle Braden Smith, who Bleacher Report's scouting department pointed out as the team's most likely cap casualty.

"The Colts set the wheels in motion to potentially cutting Smith at the end of this season when they drafted Matt Goncalves in the third round of last year's draft," Bleacher Report wrote. "The Colts can release Smith and only have to pay a $3 million dead-cap charge while opening up $16.8 million in cap space. Smith graded out as a top-20 run-blocker at tackle this season, but he was 59th in pass protection while racking up 12 penalties in his 731 offensive snaps, per PFF. His level of play isn't enough to get cut, but the fact that the Colts can create a much larger budget to improve the team can't be ignored."

Thanks to the emergence of the mentioned Matt Goncalves, the decision to cut ties with Smith could be more sensible, and affordable. Smith has been a part of the Colts' roster since 2018 as a vital part of the offensive line-- starting all but two games during his tenure.

As a consistent starter on the offensive line, it's tougher to justify the Colts cutting ties with him, but freeing up over $15 million in cap space could make that challenging to avoid. Indianapolis currently projects to have just under $30 million in free money this offseason, and considering their roster has a few important holes to fill, Smith could simply be the odd man out.

Bleacher Report's scouting department also lined out two other cap casualty candidates to be in the mix for the Colts: defensive lineman Raekwon Davis and edge rusher Tyquan Lewis.

"Between DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, and Raekwon Davis, the Colts have a lot of money wrapped up in the interior defensive line," Bleacher Report continued. "The three are set to account for about $49.8 million against the cap... The most logical cap casualty would be Davis. They could clear $6.5 million of his cap hit with a pre-June 1 cut, and he only played 30 percent of the defensive snaps this season."

"Lewis missed seven games with injury this season and only notched 1.5 sacks in the 10 games for which he was healthy. With younger options on the edge available and the money to go out and improve the position, it wouldn't be surprising if the Colts were to part way with Lewis. The team could save $4.6 million of his cap hit by releasing him, and they have already proven they have the talent on the roster to play without him."

Both Davis and Lewis are likely lower on the power rankings for the Colts' top contributors on the roster, but by cutting both, Indianapolis could save over $10 million to help bolster other areas of the team on either side of the football.

Whether those areas that need touching up come from the secondary, or even adding more weapons to aid Anthony Richardson in his third year, a few extra dollars in the bank go a long way. In this case, cutting all three candidates could free up upwards of $25 million.

If the Colts brass finds it feasible to shed some of the weight off of their front seven by releasing players like Davis or Lewis, or even with a long-time offensive lineman like Smith, it's hard to argue with the financial logistics.

NFL free agency will creep up soon, with the window for negotiations opening on March 13. In the meantime, keep a keen eye on the Colts and how they look to approach some tough decisions in the coming weeks.