With Indianapolis Colts’ defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo set to be a free agent this offseason, what could his next contract end up looking like?
Pro Football Focus has recently put together a projection for Odeyingbo and the other top 100 free agents this offseason.
According to PFF, they are projecting that Odeyingbo lands a four-year deal with $66 million. This includes $39.5 million guaranteed.
If Odeyingbo’s actual contract does land in this ballpark, his average annual value of $16.5 million would make him the 19th highest-paid edge rusher in 2025.
I’m sure in a perfect world, the Colts would love to have Odeyingbo back. On a defense that finished 22nd in pressure rate this past season, Odeyingbo’s 42 pressures were the most on the team, so losing him would require a hefty amount of production to be replaced.
However, the challenge for the Colts is that as GM Chris Ballard–hopefully–embraces competition this offseason, with that, there are a lot of position groups that he could justify adding to.
So at a defensive end position that still has Kwity Paye and Laiatu Latu, along with a defensive front unit has a whole that was the highest-paid in all of football in 2024, can Ballard justify another big contract at this position when there are a number of other needs that have to be addressed?
If this were the 2023 or 2024 Colts, I would think that Odeyingbo’s return would be likely, but if Ballard is going to operate differently this offseason, I’m less sure about that.
The Colts rank 18th in cap space at the moment with just over $28 million, although they have the means to create a lot more room.
(This article was updated to provide additional information.)
