Is Free Agent Dontrelle Inman Still On The Colts Radar?

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INDIANAPOLIS – He has the best case to return of any of the Colts remaining free agents.

Honestly, Dontrelle Inman probably deserves to be back in 2019.

But the NFL is a business and that business had the Colts looking to get younger (riskier?) at the receiver position early in free agency.

The move was understandable.

Devin Funchess is 6 years younger than Inman. The upside with the bigger Funchess is far greater than Inman, and that is something the Colts needed to try and accomplish this offseason.

Still, the biggest weakness of Funchess was an unquestioned strength that Inman brought to the Colts in 2018.

When compared to other wide receivers around the league, Funchess struggled mightily with drops.

Inman seemingly cured the Colts’ issues in that area, at a time when the season could have easily derailed.

Last Monday, when the Colts and Funchess agreed to a one-year deal for $10 million, many wondered if that was the end to Inman in Indy.

Nearly two weeks later, Inman remains a free agent, but it doesn’t sound like the door has closed just yet on him returning to the Colts.

“We are still working through it with Dontrelle,” Chris Ballard said on Thursday morning. “We like Dontrelle a lot. And he had a great year last year, but we are still working through some details on that.”

Here is a full recap on what Ballard had to say on the Jeff and Big Joe Show

On paper, the Colts have a pretty good competition building at receiver, without Inman.

You have the likes of T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Chester Rogers, Zach Pascal, Marcus Johnson, Deon Cain and Reece Fountain. That’s a group that very well could/should add even another body in the draft.

And you will likely keep just 5, maybe 6, of those wideouts on your 53-man roster come September.

But ignoring what Inman provided you last season is a bit like playing with fire.

What if the drops reappear in 2019 and the security blanket that is Inman isn’t around?

That just seems like a dangerous risk, particularly for a guy that earned Andrew Luck’s trust, even after being a mid-season signing.

Inman returning doesn’t guarantee a roster spot going to him, so maybe that is a hurdle when looking at things from the player’s point of view. Are there other teams, where the receiver room isn’t as deep as the Colts, wanting Inman?