The Indianapolis Colts are bringing T.Y. Hilton back to their wide receiver corps, another example of the franchise remaining calm and reserved.
Particularly after completing the trade for quarterback Carson Wentz, many assumed the Indianapolis Colts were in line for a massive offseason. After all, they made the splashy trade, entered free agency with as much cap space as anyone, and were coming off a strong playoff appearance, albeit with Philip Rivers prior to his retirement.
The second splash hasn’t happened yet, though. On Wednesday, the Colts re-signed wide receiver T.Y. Hilton to a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2021 season, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. And you could argue that’s their splashiest move yet.
In the case of bringing back Hilton, it makes sense for Indianapolis. They clearly have faith in their offensive core as Wentz comes into the building. Hilton has struggled with staying healthy as of late but, when on the field, he’s proven that he can still be a productive downfield target in the passing game.
However, the Hilton signing is more representative of the Colts and general manager Chris Ballard’s approach to team-building. They are relentless conservative and confident in themselves, which is evident in their offseason approach.
T.Y. Hilton returning proves the Colts are relentlessly themselves — and that’s working out just fine.
Despite needs at wide receiver and at offensive tackle after Anthony Castonzo’s retirement, Indianapolis has only signed two outside free agents, Sam Tevi and Isaac Rochell, for a total of one year and $5.01 million. Otherwise, they’ve brought back Xavier Rhodes, Marlon Mack and now Hilton.
Ballard has been the king of value since he arrived in the Colts front office and he clearly sees none of it in spending big early in free agency. Moreover, he has been an ace when it comes to the NFL Draft, finding value both early and late to keep building a quality roster that can get the team to the playoffs.
Even if you look at the Wentz trade, there is value there. Yes, it’s a gamble given how bad the quarterback was last year. But considering the depressed value of the asset, if head coach Frank Reich can get him to return to his previous form, they got a steal in a starting quarterback with a long career ahead of him.
Though the Colts haven’t spent their pot of gold they’re sitting on to this point, expect them to be active in the second and third waves of free agency. That’s when the best value signings are made and, from everything that Indianapolis and Ballard have shown us, that’s how they prefer to operate. Hilton coming back is only further evidence of that.