Colts still have plenty of offseason work to do

Mar. 23—INDIANAPOLIS — By at least one measure — a power ranking released by The 33rd Team on Thursday — the Indianapolis Colts are the NFL's worst team nearly two weeks into the free agency period.

It's a defensible position, but it's also incomplete.

The Colts have lost a trio of starters — cornerback Stephon Gilmore, linebacker Bobby Okereke and wide receiver Parris Campbell — while adding their usual contingent of young free agents with upside.

The biggest deal went to pass rusher Samson Ebukam — a 27-year-old with 23.5 career sacks who spent the past two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers after four years with the Los Angeles Rams as a fourth-round pick out of East Washington.

With Yannick Ngakoue still on the open market, there's a path for Ebukam to start opposite Kwity Paye. He's made 61 career starts, with 40 coming over the past three seasons.

Ebukam reportedly signed a three-year, $27 million contract with $11 million guaranteed.

"The money was definitely a factor because I was trying to take care of my family," Ebukam said during a video conference call last week. "We came from — I mean, I'm not going to give you the whole story, but we really went through a lot. I felt like I can definitely use this money to take care of them a lot more just so people can live a little bit more stress-free life.

"Then, I know the Colts are deeply rooted in the NFL. So they have a strong history of winning. That's the second motivation. Three, they play the same (defensive) scheme that I just played at the 49ers. There may be a tweak here and there, but they basically play the same thing. So it would be easiest for me to adapt to."

The only sure-fire starter added so far is kicker Matt Gay, who reportedly got a four-year, $22.5 million deal that is the biggest ever awarded to a kicker in free agency.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew could start the season under center, and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie is a likely replacement for Campbell in the slot. But both could see their roles change after next month's draft.

Defensive tackle Taven Bryan, a former first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, also was signed to add depth. And Indianapolis re-signed defensive end Tyquan Lewis, linebacker E.J. Speed, wide receiver Ashton Dulin and offensive tackle Carter O'Donnell.

A few more signings could be on the way — particularly at cornerback and along the offensive line — but the bulk of the work will be done in the draft, where the Colts hold the fourth overall pick.

Like every offseason since Andrew Luck's sudden retirement in 2019, quarterback is the primary focus.

Florida's Anthony Richardson and Kentucky's Will Levis are the most likely first-round targets, but Indianapolis could choose the best available player at No. 4 and target someone like Tennessee's Hendon Hooker with a later pick.

Whichever quarterback is chosen will set the offseason agenda.

General manager Chris Ballard is placing a lot of faith in first-year head coach Shane Steichen to build an effective offense around a rookie or Minshew. Steichen's track record with young quarterbacks is strong after helping to develop Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers and Jalen Hurts with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the challenge in Indianapolis is significant.

The Colts ranked 30th with an average of 17 points per game during a 4-12-1 season in 2022, and the passing game ranked 23rd in yards (3,432) and 24th in touchdowns (17) while throwing a league-high 20 interceptions.

New offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter — who began his pro coaching journey with Indianapolis as an offensive assistant in 2009 — doesn't believe waiting for the identity of the starting quarterback will hinder offseason work geared at improving the attack.

"You're putting the details of each play together, and that has to start at a foundational level," Cooter said. "That has to start at a simplistic level, and you build it from there. We're able to have a lot of conversations as a coaching staff that aren't maybe necessarily player dependent, and then as we get our team, our offense sort of finalized and locked in at every position, that's when you're able to sort of lock in on this guy's strengths, that guy's weaknesses (and) what we want to do to emphasize such and such a player or build around a quarterback.

"Those will be ongoing discussions that always get a little more fine-tuned as the year goes on as the team comes together."