Indianapolis Colts: Latest Free Agency News and Rumors

The official free agency period is only a few weeks away, and as teams prepare to try to bring in players from around the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts are already generating a bit of buzz.

Once again, the Colts will have the opportunity to be one of the bigger spenders in free agency. According to Over The Cap, the Colts have an estimated $43.7 million in cap space, which means that they'll have money to bring in some potentially big names. However, keep in mind that there are upcoming extensions due for players like Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton, so they may be careful in how they use that money.

Still, the Colts are likely going to be trying to upgrade some key positions on both sides of the ball. At running back, the Trent Richardson experiment has officially failed, and the Colts may be trying to bring in a veteran along with a rookie in the 2015 NFL draft to try to find some kind of offensive balance.

Meanwhile, the defense could use some help just about everywhere, needing pieces at linebacker, safety and on the defensive line.

Even with all of the rumors and reports swirling around, nothing is certain as to who the Colts will try to sign in free agency. Having said that, let's take a look at some of the latest rumors and reports regarding the Colts as free agency approaches.

Colts Want Mike Adams Back

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The expectations weren't exactly high for Mike Adams when the Colts signed him in June before the start of training camp last year. However, no matter how you look at it, the Adams signing was a success, with the 33-year-old veteran producing seven takeaways while earning his first career Pro Bowl selection.

Now, Adams is a free agent once again, and although he is set to be 34 years old next season, it appears quite clear that the Colts want him back. 

Head coach Chuck Pagano believes that Adams can still play at a high level, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com, saying:

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He's still got good football left in him.There's still gas left in the tank. Try to tell him that there isn't, then you'll have yourself a fistfight on your hands. He's been playing with a chip on his shoulder for a long, long time. I fully expect him to come back and play at a high level.

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While Pagano didn't come out and say that he'd want Adams to return, general manager Ryan Grigson was a bit more direct, per Wells:

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We would love to have Mike back. Obviously a June signing that goes to the Pro Bowl is a good thing. He never played like he was long in the tooth. He did some really good things for us. You want to try and solidify every position group when you are trying to win the Super Bowl. When you have the bar set like that, you look at all your needs across the board. It’s like, ‘Wow, we need help everywhere.’ And that’s at every position. Everybody has to play better. We all have to do a better job.

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With LaRon Landry gone, the Colts are going to need all the help they can get at the safety position. Adams might not be the best safety on the free-agent market, but he's a familiar face that would likely be willing to take another cheap contract to remain with the team. Given his production last season, Colts fans would likely have no problem with Adams returning.

Frank Gore Interested in Indianapolis?

With Richardson's struggles and Ahmad Bradshaw now a free agent, the Colts need to find some talent at running back to help give them a more balanced offense.

This offseason, the Colts are going to be tempted to bring in one of the available free-agent running backs to try to find their new starter. Available names include Knowshon Moreno, Shane Vereen and DeMarco Murray, but one name that continues to come up is San Francisco 49ers veteran Frank Gore.

According to Bleacher Report's Matt Miller in the video above, the Colts are the most likely landing spot for Gore, with both sides interested in getting a deal done. At 31 years old, there's no denying that Gore's best years are behind him, but that didn't stop Gore from picking up 1,106 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.3 yards per carry this past season.

Back in November, Matt Barrows from The Sacramento Bee noted that Gore is curious about the possibility of playing with Andrew Luck, saying:

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One player who will be intently watching the weekend's Colts-Broncos game? Running back Frank Gore. His top choice is to remain with the 49ers. But he's also curious about playing with Andrew Luck and wonders whether a quality tailback is the missing element in Indianapolis' offense.

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There are mixed emotions about the possibility of Gore playing in Indianapolis, but it would make a lot of sense. The Colts need a power running back to get the bulk of carries, and Gore is the ideal back to be what the organization was hoping that Richardson could be one day.

While Gore isn't a long-term solution to the Colts' running back situation, it gives them a starter for 2015. If Gore does come to Indianapolis, don't be surprised if the Colts still try to draft a running back like Tevin Coleman or David Cobb early in this year's draft to have one of them get some experience behind Gore before taking over starting duties in 2016 or 2017.

Pernell McPhee a Possible Pass-Rusher for Indianapolis

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After four productive seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, it appears that Pernell McPhee is ready for a big payday elsewhere.

The 26-year-old defensive end racked up 17 sacks in his first four years in the league, including a career-high 7.5 this past season. According to Aaron Wilson from The Baltimore Sun, McPhee is now reportedly set to go elsewhere in search of a lucrative contract, and the Colts have been listed by Wilson as one of McPhee's potential landing spots.

Since Pagano became head coach, the Colts haven't had a problem with bringing in former Ravens players, including Cory Redding and Arthur Jones. McPhee was a rookie during Pagano's last season as the Ravens defensive coordinator, so there is some familiarity between the two.

The Colts struggled finding players that could consistently rush the passer last year, and Grigson believes that they can never have enough pass-rushers, according to Mike Wells:

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I was always brought up with if you have 12 pass-rushers, give me 13. You can never have enough pass-rushers and that’s Scouting 101. The hard part is actually finding them and then finding ones that, the handful of them that are clean and really good.... If there’s a pass-rusher that gets your blood pumping in the draft, then you’re going to have to consider him, no matter where your needs are.

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The problem with McPhee landing in Indianapolis is that he's likely going to be asking for a big contract. The Colts have the cap space to afford a player like McPhee, but they also might want to spend that money on a bigger name on the defensive line. 

Unclear Futures for Hakeem Nicks, Reggie Wayne

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

There is a ton of potential for the Indianapolis Colts wide receivers, especially with Andrew Luck throwing them the ball. Hilton has emerged as a legitimate No. 1 weapon in the NFL, while Donte Moncrief showed flashes of being a serious vertical threat.

Now, the Colts have another promising young receiver in Duron Carter, who is trying to step out of the shadow of his father, Cris Carter, after recently spending time in the CFL. At 6'5", the Colts are interested in seeing what Carter can do, but because of his presence, the futures of Hakeem Nicks and Reggie Wayne are up in the air.

Wayne's future was uncertain before Carter was signed. At 36 years old, Wayne dealt with multiple injuries last season and didn't look like the future Hall of Fame player that he was in the past. For Nicks, the former New York Giants receiver didn't seem to get on the same page with the rest of the Colts offense until late in the season, and even then he made little impact.

Grigson admitted to Mike Wells that nothing is certain at the receiver position, saying:

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We’re not putting a thumb on anyone right now to give us a decision. Those are big decisions. Those are decisions you sit and talk with your wife with and bring your kids into it. It’s tough. We need to, first before we make any decisions, know if they want to play.

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The Colts might try to bring Nicks back to ensure that they have three ready-to-play receivers in front of Carter as he makes the transition to the NFL. But there's also the possibility that the Colts look elsewhere for another receiver, either in free agency or the draft.

Either way, no one knows if Nicks or Wayne will return in 2015.

Tensions Rise Between Adrian Peterson and Vikings

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This is a bit of a stretch, but the possibility of Adrian Peterson playing in Indianapolis isn't as impossible as it once was.

According to Jason La Canfora from CBS Sports, tensions continue to rise between Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings, most recently due to an altercation between Peterson's agent, Ben Dogra, and a member of the Vikings front office. La Canfora provides more details:

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According to the sources, Dogra engaged in a heated exchange with Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski during which the agent made it clear that Peterson would never play there again. The incident took place during a time when outside parties were in the vicinity. Finally, former Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik intervened, separating the men and diffusing the escalating tension, sources said.

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As of right now, Peterson is still under contract for the Vikings. However, because of the tension between the two sides, it wouldn't be a shock to see the Vikings release him in the coming weeks or months. According to Spotrac, the Vikings would lose just $2.4 million in dead cap space while saving over $47 million over the next three years.

Of course, even if Peterson is released, the Colts are going to have to be willing to pay a lot of money for a player at a position that isn't as important as it once was. Still, Peterson has been arguably the best running back of this generation, and his presence in the backfield would completely change the way Pep Hamilton's offense is run.

Stephen Holder from the Indianapolis Star believes that the Colts would be a legitimate landing spot for Peterson, and it is possible. Ideally, bringing in Gore along with a rookie running back in the draft would make more sense, but there will be plenty wondering what it would be like to see Luck and Peterson in the same backfield.