“They were already passed in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Panthers, who traded with the Bears for the No. 1 overall selection. And with Houston in second, Arizona in third and Indianapolis in fourth, the Colts could have the third pick, at best, of rookie quarterbacks in April,” wrote Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. “If there’s a team to surprisingly jump into the mix for Lamar Jackson, Indy makes the most sense.”
After Ryan’s release, the Colts have two quarterbacks on their roster: veteran Nick Foles and 2021 sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger.
“They haven’t had a franchise-caliber quarterback since Andrew Luck announced his sudden retirement in 2019, relying on one-year stopgap players such as Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Ryan “wrote Brian Wacker of the Baltimore Sun. “Indianapolis also has the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, which it could use for a quarterback – if it thinks one of the top four is worthy to lead the franchise. But the city that once beating Baltimore’s NFL team in the middle of the night is now the team in the best position to steal its superstar quarterback and 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player.”
If Jackson ends up signing an offer sheet with the Colts or any other team, the Ravens would have five days to match. If Baltimore chose not to match the offer, he would receive two first-round picks from the team. The Colts own the fourth overall pick this year.
Darius Slay in Baltimore was a fleeting thought
With the free agency frenzy in full swing, no one was more of an agent of chaos yesterday than five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, and the Ravens played a peripheral role in the drama.
Yesterday morning it was reported that the Eagles plan to release Slay, who tweeted his farewell to Philadelphia.