Colts Have Some Patchwork To Do
The Super Bowl champions are being disassembled.
Not the big parts, but some significant-albeit-tiny ones.
On Tuesday, two players released by the Indianapolis Colts, wide receiver Brandon Stokley and defensive tackle Montae Reagor, agreed to contracts with other teams. Stokley landed with the Denver Broncos and Reagor with the Philadelphia Eagles.
That comes on the heels of three Colts players who were unrestricted free agents signing elsewhere--tailback Dominic Rhodes with the Oakland Raiders, cornerback Nick Harper with the Tennessee Titans and linebacker Cato June with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It is the reality of the salary cap world: The best teams in the NFL get ripped apart. Clubs must make cap-related moves. They must make choices. They can't keep everyone. And it becomes even tougher for a Super Bowl champion. Suddenly, its players become more coveted in free agency. Everyone else tries to tap into the magic.
None of the players that the Colts have lost is irreplaceable. Rhodes had a big performance in the Super Bowl triumph over the Chicago Bears and shared playing time and carries all last season with rookie Joseph Addai. But Addai had taken over as the starter during the postseason. Stokley was a highly productive receiving complement to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne for much of his Colts tenure but missed the Super Bowl run because he was hurt. Reagor missed most of last season after being injured in an auto accident. Harper and June were starters but this is the defense, remember, that looked badly in need of an overhaul during the regular season before turning things around during the playoffs.
Still, the little losses add up. The Colts, after the playoff near misses that preceded their championship, knew better than anyone else how hard it is to get to the top in the NFL. Now they're beginning to find out that it's even tougher to stay there.
By Mark Maske |
March 21, 2007; 10:55 AM ET
| Category:
Colts
Previous: M. Reagor Agrees to Deal With Eagles |
Next: Conduct Policy Could Be Announced Next Week
We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features.
User reviews and comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions.