by Kevin Hickey
The Indianapolis Colts are coming off an encouraging season in the first campaign under head coach Shane Steichen.
Though they narrowly missed out on the playoffs, the fact that they were in the hunt until the final game of the season with a backup quarterback proves how far this team has come since the disastrous 2022 season.
Most of the offseason attention will be spent on the 2024 NFL draft, in which the Colts hold the No. 15 overall pick. However, they also are among the leaders in salary-cap space entering the offseason.
When taking a look at some of these cap hits, they include roster bonuses that don’t go into effect until March but since they are on the roster as of this writing, we’ll assume they will be until something changes.
Though the Colts aren’t in desperate need to add more cap space, some of these contracts could be offloaded or restructured.
Before getting into those potential decisions, here’s a quick look at the biggest salary-cap hits for the Colts entering the 2024 offseason, via Over The Cap.
G Quenton Nelson: $25.2 million
DT DeForest Buckner: $22.75 million
RT Braden Smith: $16.7 million
C Ryan Kelly: $14.63 million
RB Jonathan Taylor: $10.88 million
LB Shaquille Leonard: $8 million (dead cap)
DE Samson Ebukam: $7.7 million
QB Anthony Richardson: $7.7 million
K Matt Gay: $5.9 million
TE Mo Alie-Cox: $5.92 million
LB E.J. Speed: $5.46 million
DE Kwity Paye: $4.3 million
WR Ashton Dulin: $3.68 million
LB Zaire Franklin: $3.36 million
TE Kylen Granson: $3.17 million
G Will Fries: $3.01 million
DE Dayo Odeyingbo: $1.97 million
CB Julius Brents: $1.86 million
WR Alec Pierce: $1.8 million
TE Jelani Woods: $1.47 million
LT Bernhard Raimann: $1.45 million
Originally posted on coltswire.usatoday.com