The Indianapolis Colts have decided that they no longer need Andre Johnson's services as they reload for the 2016 NFL season. Johnson's release frees up around $5 million in cap space. His production has dipped considerably since his days with the Houston Texans, and clearly he was not the receiver the Colts had envisioned when they picked him up.
At 34 years old, the Texans released Johnson because they were afraid of him declining, somewhat like what the Atlanta Falcons just did with Roddy White. The veteran receiver not only had to deal with his own physical limitations becoming more apparent and multiple injuries, but also with multiple different starting quarterbacks as well as a porous offensive line.
Johnson finished the 2015 season with 14 starts, 41 receptions, 503 receiving yards, 12.3 yards per reception and four receiving touchdowns. The Colts will now have Phillip Dorsett and Donte Moncrief backing up TY Hilton and with Dorsett healthy the Colts should be more productive on offense.
The Colts currently have $28 million in cap space, so they could potentially make a run at Marvin Jones or Mohamed Sanu. Sanu has been linked to the New York Giants for some time, so the Colts would probably have a better shot at Jones who should be available to the highest bidder.
There are also a number of talented wide receivers that should be available in the later rounds of the NFL draft, like Braxton Miller, Will Fuller or Josh Doctson. The Colts will also have their own in-house roster work they will need to take care of. They will need to find a backup quarterback at some point as Matt Hasselbeck, Ryan Lindley and Charlie Whitehurst will all hit free agency.
Sure, they have Josh Freeman, but he is far from a guarantee. Indianapolis could be looking to take a quarterback later on in the draft, with players like Dak Prescott, Cardale Jones and Jacoby Brissett all available. They will face a similar dilemma at running back as Dan Herron and Ahmad Bradshaw will hit free agency, leaving no one to backup Frank Gore.The Colts will most likely replace them in the draft considering how many talented running backs there are in this class. Kenyan Drake, Paul Perkins, and C.J. Prosise should all be players the Colts look into.
Finally, at the tight end position both Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are free agents, which will either force the Colts to re-sign one of them or draft a new tight end. The Colts will have a lot of work to do this offseason and after releasing Johnson, they may want to rethink how they approach this free agency this offseason.
