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PFF Believes Colts Have NFL’s 13th Best ‘Salary Cap Health’ Over Next Three Years

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PFF Believes Colts Have NFL’s 13th Best ‘Salary Cap Health’ Over Next Three Years


According to Pro Football Focus, the Indianapolis Colts have the league’s 13th best salary cap situation over the next three years (2023-2025)—when considering a number of key factors: top 51 veteran valuation, rookie contract players, projected effective cap space, total prorated money, and 2023 free agent projections:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — RANK: 13

The Colts are a fascinating situation to monitor in 2023 because of their wide range of outcomes, with a lot of very good players either missing extensive time to injury or simply not performing at the top of their abilities in 2022. Indianapolis tumbling down to 30th in our top 51 veteran valuation is not due to the loss of a bunch of marquee free agents, so in theory they could skyrocket back up the list.

After the Colts ranked dead last in expected points added per dropback in 2022, new head coach Shane Steichen and presumed franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson can only go up from here.

Under general manager Chris Ballard, the Colts have namely avoided extensions for ‘good but not special’ starters and re-signed their top stars—including mega-extensions for both offensive guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Shaquille Leonard. They’ve been rather fiscally prudent in free agency, shying away from long-term contracts all together.

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That being said, the Colts recently did make ex-Rams Pro Bowler Matt Gay the highest paid kicker in NFL history and also signed solid starter Samson Ebukam at defensive end to not an unsubstantial amount of salary cap space.

One of the biggest salary cap questions facing the Colts is how the franchise plans on handling the looming contract expiration for star running back Jonathan Taylor, who’s set to hit free agency following the 2023 season.

The league has devalued the running back position, and most of the NFL’s top running backs haven’t lived up to the backend years of their second extensions in recent memory. Taylor is coming off a disappointing 2022 season because of an ankle injury, but is just a year removed from a monstrous rushing campaign with the Colts and is only 24 years old.

Taylor has a lot of mileage from his collegiate days at Wisconsin, but also keeps his body in tip-top shape, eating well, and even doing yoga for added flexibility—and his lingering ankle injury actually limited some of the wear-and-tear from this past season as he had only 192 total carries (compared to a whopping 332 carries with the Colts a year prior respectively, potentially allowing him to reset physically following such a heavy workload).

In the short-term, the Colts could elect to franchise tag Taylor on a year-to-year basis, preventing the franchise from regretting the last few years of a lucrative long-term deal. However, the Colts’ best bet may be to frontload a multi-year contract extension entirely, as Taylor figures to have at least a handful of elite rushing seasons still left.

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Otherwise, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who’s also a member of the Colts’ 2020 draft class is also up for a contract extension. As long as it’s in line with his market value, that figures to be a no brainer for the Colts—as Pittman Jr. has been rock solid and should provide a really reliable weapon for rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson going forward.

Lastly, underrated defensive tackle Grover Stewart is set to become a free agent following the 2023 campaign, and that’s unquestionably an extension the Colts will want to get done—as he’s quickly become one of the defense’s best players, run stuffers, and a team leader.

The hope is that facing a short-term rebuild, the Colts can quickly get back into contention and take advantage of Richardson’s rookie contract—assuming he’s the real deal at QB.

The Colts have done a commendable job of maintaining pretty good, but not necessarily great salary cap wellness for the foreseeable future—as this ranking indicates, relatively speaking.



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Indianapolis, IN

Report: Pirates Promote Top Pitching Prospect to Indianapolis

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Report: Pirates Promote Top Pitching Prospect to Indianapolis


PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are reportedly promoting one of their top pitching prospects in their minor league system, getting him closer to the MLB.

Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported that the Pirates will promote right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler from Double-A Altoona Curve to Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

Chandler played for North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga., 60 miles east of Atlanta. He starred in multiple sports, including basketball, golf, football and baseball. He originally committed to Georgia to play baseball, but then decommitted and committed to Clemson to play both football and baseball.

He had a fantastic senior season for North Oconee, going 8-1 with just a 1.25 ERA, plus 96 strikeouts in 44.2 innings pitched, while hitting .411 with eight home runs, 12 doubles and 35 RBI.

The Pirates would select Chandler with the No, 72 overall pick in the Third Round of the 2021 MLB Draft and signed him for $3 millon signing bonus, an over slot signing.

He pitched and also played shortstop for the Rookie-Level Florida Complex Pirates in 2021 and 2022 and then earned promotion to the Bradenton Marauders in the Single-A Florida State League.

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Chandler chose to focus on pitching heading into the 2023 season, which would show his best talents. He started 24 games for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in High-A, with a 9-4 record, 4.75 ERA in 106.0 innings pitched, making 120 strikeouts to 51 walks and holding hitters to a .265 batting average.

He made it up to Altoona for just one game in 2023, allowing just one hit in five innings of work and getting the win.

Chandler has played all of 2024 in Double-A, starting 16 of 19 games, a 6-7 record, one save, one shutout. He also had a 3.70 ERA in 80.1 innings pitched, allowing 55 hits, 33 earned runs and 26 walks, while making 94 strikeouts and holding hitters to a .192 batting average, along with having a 1.01 WHIP.

His last start came Friday night against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, allowing just two hits and one run in 6.0 innings pitched, while making six strikeouts on 80 pitches.

Chandler has also pitched great since the start of June, with a 2.61 ERA and 10.6 K/9.

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MLB Pipeline ranks Chandler as the No. 49 prospect in their top 100 across baseball, the No. 9 right-handed pitcher and No. 12 pitcher. They also rate him as the highest Pirates prospect.

Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates.





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Indianapolis, IN

National discount retailer to make it's way to downtown Indianapolis

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National discount retailer to make it's way to downtown Indianapolis


INDIANAPOLIS — The downtown Indy building Claypool Court is getting a new retailer.

Officials hope major names like Burlington will bring more Hoosiers and visitors to Mile Square.

WRTV

“There’s definitely a lot of higher-end restaurants right around this area, so I think bringing in some retail stores isn’t a bad idea,” Wesley Slaughter, who lives downtown, said.

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The store will sit at Washington and Illinois Streets, an area Slaughter says will be a good fit because it’s a heavily trafficked intersection.

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WRTV

“I could see it being beneficial to get more people in the area because otherwise you have to drive outside of 465 just to hit one of those stores,” Slaughter said.

TJ Maxx has been a big part of the downtown retail scene for many years, but now there is some competition with the Burlington that’s going to be a couple of doors down.

WATCH RELATED COVERAGE | Downtown Indy’s Future Plans announced

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Downtown Indy’s future plans announced

“We’re excited anytime that there’s a new addition to the retail landscape here in downtown Indianapolis,” Taylor Schaffer, with Downtown Indy Inc., said.

Schaffer says this is just part of a pipeline of new projects and development coming to the area.

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WRTV

The space Burlington will take over is the lower level of Claypool Court. It used to be home to the Rhythm! Discovery Center.

The store is set to open this fall.





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Indianapolis, IN

A Yard Of One’s Own – Indianapolis Monthly

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A Yard Of One’s Own – Indianapolis Monthly


Credit: Angela Jackson/Indianapolis Monthly

REALTOR Summer Hudson was always waiting for the perfect midcentury modern home to hit the market and lure her away from her beloved Irvington. On Hudson’s popular TikTok channel, Find a Lot to Love, she cooed over original 1960s woodwork and intact bathrooms for the 207,000 followers who enjoyed watching her walk through houses for sale in Central Indiana. But the eXp Realty agent’s own family needed a yard for their 5-year-old daughter more than she needed a pristine Avriel Shull A-frame, so she gave her husband, Ryan Sloan, one criterion: Find a house with the exact same layout as their 3,000-square-foot Irvington ranch, plus a yard, and she’d move.

Lo and behold, he did, in Crows Nest. The three-bed, two-bath house has a circular layout with semi–open concept living, dining, and kitchen spaces and, as a bonus, a pool on the half-acre lot. “I always said I’d never turn down a pool,” Hudson says. The home had been sitting on the market for a while because, in Hudson’s opinion, the listing for 1,800 square feet was misleading; the homeowners couldn’t include the 1,200-square-foot finished attic because the ceiling was too low. Additionally, the photos didn’t do the home justice. “From the outside, it looks tiny and bungalow-ish, but you don’t realize how deep it goes,” she says, adding that the images didn’t showcase the layout’s attractive flow, either. The couple got it under list price for $410,000, and Hudson, who uses the attic as her office, has no regrets—her dream midcentury home can wait. Downsizing forced the couple to purge, and they discovered the joys of a simplified lifestyle. “I’m actually spending more time with my kid out- side. That has been the most amazing part of all of this,” Hudson says.

FAVORITE FEATURE
The nature-filled backyard

PURCHASE DATE
March 2024

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NEIGHBORHOOD
Crows Nest

SQUARE FOOTAGE
1,800





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