Following the blockbuster trade the Indianapolis Colts pulled off by sending quarterback Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders, they now have the most salary-cap space in the NFL.
The Colts were already in a solid standing when it came to the salary cap for 2022. But general manager Chris Ballard somehow found a way to convince the Commanders to take on the entirety of Wentz’s 2022 salary. All $28.3 million of it has now been cleared from the Colts’ salary cap.
With that, the Colts now have $69.8 million in salary-cap space. The next closest team is the Los Angeles Chargers at $56.3 million. However, the figure for the Chargers doesn’t appear to account for Mike Williams’ massive new contract.
What the Colts do with their exorbitant amount of cap space is a mystery. They are expected to be in the running for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who carries a $27.8 million cap hit in 2022. That would essentially negate the savings the Colts received in the Wentz trade.
But if they choose to roll with a free-agent quarterback, that cost would be much cheaper.
It would allow the Colts to pursue big-name pass rushers like Chandler Jones or Emmanuel Ogbah. They also could use the space to add a wide receiver like Amari Cooper, who carries a $20 million cap hit in 2022. But that is just speculation at this point and no reports have shown they have interest in trading for Cooper.
The Colts have always been smart with their money since Chris Ballard took over in 2017. Now is the time to use that money in order to bring in game-changing talents to the roster.
We’ll see in a week’s time what the Colts will do with their abundance of cap space, but they are now the league leaders following the Wentz trade.
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