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It’s become an annual offseason question mark in the NFL recently — what do the Indianapolis Colts want to do at quarterback next season?
While making a guest appearance on Slow News Day with Kevin Clark, American sportswriter and NFL insider Peter King laid out two possible scenarios the Colts could explore in 2023.
First, King proposed the Colts kicking the tires on an old rival, former New England Patriots and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. But King was a much bigger fan of the idea that Indianapolis should target a quarterback in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Heading into Week 16, the Colts own the No. 6 pick in next spring’s draft.
Colts a Possible Destination for Brady?
King proposed that five teams could be interested in signing Brady this offseason. Brady, who will turn 46 in August, is set to be a free agent after this season.
The San Francisco 49ers have been rumored to be a top destination for Brady next season for a few different reasons. King mentioned them, but shot down the rumor because of the recent strong play from Brock Purdy.
King then suggested the idea of the Colts considering Brady. Two years ago, Brady was reportedly interested in signing with Indianapolis, but the Colts were not.
“The Colts had a chance [to sign Brady during the 2020 offseason], the Colts said no,” King said on Slow News Day. “So, now the question is, with a more desperate Colts team, would Chris Ballard and Jim Irsay say all is forgiven for Josh McDaniels and Deflategate and welcome in Tom Brady for a year.
“I don’t know. I truly don’t know.”
Brady leads the NFL in completions and pass attempts this season. He also went eight straight games without throwing an interception and nearly broke the league’s record for most consecutive pass attempts without a pick.
But outside of those positives, it’s been a subpar year for Brady and the Buccaneers. His yards per pass average has dropped from 7.4 last season to 6.3. He also only has 20 touchdown passes with 3,897 yards.
Most inside the league expect Brady to explore other teams in free agency or retire. Brady has a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports to become a lead NFL analyst whenever he decides to retire.
King Calls for Colts to Draft Quarterback
While the possibility of adding Brady is intriguing, King left little doubt about what he’d prefer the Colts to do behind center this offseason.
“What I would do if I were them, and again, we talked about Brady, I’d say listen, we’re not scotch taping the quarterback position any more,” King said on the podcast. “We’re drafting a quarterback. Unless there isn’t one that we like at all, we’re drafting a quarterback this year. Period.
“And we’re going to grow with him, we’re going to live with him, and we’re going to go through the hard times with them. If I were them, that’s what I would do.
“I’m tired of them scotch taping the quarterback position.”
King argued that the most successful teams in the NFL “stay the course” and don’t overreact to the “ebbs and flows” that naturally come in football. King said the Colts didn’t exemplify that key idea with the firing of head coach Frank Reich and wouldn’t be if they departed with general manager Chris Ballard next.
The NFL insider also added that he “really likes” Ballard and implied that he could still be a great general manager in Indianapolis if he solves the team’s biggest bugaboo since 2019 — quarterback.
A 46-year-old signal caller doesn’t solve that issue long term; he’s just more scotch tape.
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