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Speaker 1: The NFL never sleeps.

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Speaker 2: He's gonna watchdown Field picked off.

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Speaker 3: By the Colts.

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Speaker 1: The roster is ever evolving, and it's all about finding

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Speaker 1: the edge. He's at the.

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Speaker 3: Thirty thirty, five thirty.

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Speaker 1: Please go out sideline, He's got a chance.

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Speaker 4: Twenty ten five cut stacks.

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Speaker 1: This is the Last Word, the offseason home of the

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Speaker 1: Indianapolis Colts.

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Speaker 3: Kick us on its way, header, put the up parts,

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Speaker 3: get us.

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Speaker 1: Call twin ball game. Come now Here's Matt Taylor and

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Speaker 1: Casey Valier.

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Speaker 2: Welcome into the Last Word, the off season radio home

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Speaker 2: of the Indianapolis Colts, airing inside the Indiana Union Construction

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Speaker 2: Industry Radio Studios every Friday evening on ninety three five

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Speaker 2: one oh seven five the Fan. I'm your host, Casey Value,

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Speaker 2: joined as always by Matt Taylor, and we are a

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Speaker 2: week into free agency. If you will, I guess the

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Speaker 2: new league started on Wednesday, technically just a couple of

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Speaker 2: days from the official news, but it all kind of

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Speaker 2: out underway on Monday. So we're gonna recap everything that

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Speaker 2: happened in this opening week of free agency. We know

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Speaker 2: that where's the notebook exactly?

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Speaker 4: Wow?

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Speaker 2: I mean, we know Daniel Jones Alec Pierce are Back,

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Speaker 2: Michael Pittman, z Ayer Franklin have been traded. So who

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Speaker 2: else did the Colts get? Who left? We're gonna break

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Speaker 2: all of that down tonight. I think it's only fitting though,

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Speaker 2: that we start with some of those big moves the

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Speaker 2: Colts did make, and that is starting with Daniel Jones,

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Speaker 2: the quarterback. He has reached a two year contract extension

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Speaker 2: with the Indianapolis Colts. He is coming off that torn

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Speaker 2: achilles he suffered in December, but we all saw what

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Speaker 2: he was like inside this Shane Stike in offense when

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Speaker 2: he was healthy, he had a career high completion percentage

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Speaker 2: of sixty eight percent yep over eight yards per attempt

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Speaker 2: was also a career best for him. So when you

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Speaker 2: think about all of it entailed, we all thought that

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Speaker 2: this was the route they would go. But what does

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Speaker 2: this signing mean for the Colts as they kind of

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Speaker 2: move forward with that commitment but also the continuity of

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Speaker 2: bringing him.

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Speaker 3: Back, Well, it just means that the deal is done.

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Speaker 3: It's the biggest thing. There's no more wondering, you know,

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Speaker 3: is he going to come back? Is he going to

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Speaker 3: get offer sheets from other teams? He is the unquestioned

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Speaker 3: Colts starter at quarterback. This is completely different than this

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Speaker 3: time last year when we first saw Daniel Jones step

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Speaker 3: into the Colts press room and talk about being signed

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Speaker 3: initially by the Colts and being, you know, in a

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Speaker 3: quarterback battle with Anthony Richardson. No, I mean Daniel Jones. Now,

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Speaker 3: three hundred and sixty five days later, he's the Colts guy.

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Speaker 2: So it's a two year deal.

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Speaker 3: It's kind of that sweet spot for both Daniel Jones

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Speaker 3: and the Colts. Jones winning a long term deal. The

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Speaker 3: Colts wanted to make sure they didn't lose him in

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Speaker 3: free agency, but they also protected themselves a little bit

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Speaker 3: to a degree with Jones coming off with torn achilles.

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Speaker 3: So it just means, bottom line, the Colts now give

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Speaker 3: themselves a chance to find that success they had last

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Speaker 3: year with Jones at the helm when everybody was healthy

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Speaker 3: and everybody knows in this league you gotta have a quarterback,

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Speaker 3: you gotta have a chance, and the Colts had one

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Speaker 3: of the best quarterbacks in the NFL last year statistically

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Speaker 3: when Jones was humming, the offense was humming before that

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Speaker 3: fracture fibrial and that torn achilles.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, when you talk about you know you mentioned it.

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Speaker 2: The deal is done, we know that he is here.

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Speaker 2: How important was that to get it done? Now getting

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Speaker 2: it done this week knowing that he is here.

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Speaker 3: Well, I think it was important to not let Jones again,

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Speaker 3: going back to that transition tag aspect of things, it

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Speaker 3: was important to not let him hypothetically get a chance

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Speaker 3: to receive other offers from other teams under the rules

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Speaker 3: of the transition tag. So the framework of this deal.

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Speaker 3: Also on top of that, I think the framework of

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Speaker 3: the deal because Alec Pierce signed before Daniel Jones, but

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Speaker 3: I think the parameters of that deal were in place

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Speaker 3: because everybody talks. These guys talk, so I'm sure Pierson Jones,

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Speaker 3: let's not be naive about things. I'm sure they were

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Speaker 3: in communication during this process. So I don't think Alek.

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Speaker 3: I don't think Alec Pierce signs back with the Colts

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Speaker 3: if he doesn't have assurances from Jones or Jones's party

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Speaker 3: and his representation that he's not going to come back.

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Speaker 3: Getting a deal done is big because now you've got

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Speaker 3: your two guys that really like each other. They're both back,

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Speaker 3: they're both playmakers on this offense. But also it helps

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Speaker 3: you if you're the Colts understand where you're at right

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Speaker 3: now in terms of the salary cap r It's really

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Speaker 3: hard to negotiate with other players when you're still negotiating

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Speaker 3: with your quarterback. So, now that the Colts know how

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Speaker 3: much you know salary cap they have, and to keep

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Speaker 3: things simple, how many you know, pieces of the pie

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Speaker 3: they still have left, you know, to supplement the roster

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Speaker 3: in the coming days and weeks with free agency now

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Speaker 3: upon us is big. Got to have your quarterback first.

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Speaker 3: Now the dominoes can start to fall after that once

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Speaker 3: you know just how much you know you're in if

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Speaker 3: you will to pay your quarterback long term.

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Speaker 2: Now we know how important that relationship is between Alec

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Speaker 2: Pearson Daniel Jones. Will get into that in just a minute,

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Speaker 2: but I think one of the big question marks on

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Speaker 2: Daniel Jones returning that happens now the contract is settled,

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Speaker 2: is what does it mean from a health standpoint? And

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Speaker 2: I think, you know, he kind of lay it out

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Speaker 2: a couple of times this week, but he talked about

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Speaker 2: kind of where he is, his current health situation and

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Speaker 2: that timeline.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm in a good spot. I think I'm on schedule.

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Speaker 5: I think from everything doctors telling me, trainers, rehab pets.

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Speaker 5: I think, yeah, I'm I'm in a good spot. I've

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Speaker 5: hit hit my marks and just have to continue to

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Speaker 5: do that. It's a process, I understand, you know, kind

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Speaker 5: of just keep checking the boxes and keep progressing as

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Speaker 5: you're you know, as the kind of the rehab protocol

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Speaker 5: lays out. I'm confident I'll be ready to go. I

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Speaker 5: think my goal was to be ready for week one.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 5: With that being said, I understand it is a process,

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Speaker 5: and there's there's a lot of work to do, you know,

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Speaker 5: and uh, you know, I'm ready to do it. So

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Speaker 5: I've got to continue to, like I said, check the boxes,

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Speaker 5: progress as the doctors and uh and pts and and

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Speaker 5: you know, everybody instructs me and my jobs to do

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Speaker 5: the work and make sure I'm I'm consistent with that.

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Speaker 4: So that's what I'll do.

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Speaker 5: And I think if I continue to do that and

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Speaker 5: and progress, I should be ready to go.

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Speaker 2: Well, that right there should be the most important factor

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Speaker 2: when the Colts were trying to think about who that

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Speaker 2: quarterback is going to be, because you talk about protecting

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Speaker 2: yourself and you want to make sure your quarterbacks in

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Speaker 2: play and Daniel Jones are the guy they wanted. But

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Speaker 2: you're coming off that achilles. You want to make sure

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Speaker 2: that all that lines up so that you aren't signing him,

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Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, it's not until October November

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Speaker 2: that you can really get this thing going. Sure, So

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Speaker 2: you know that timeline seems to add up to what

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Speaker 2: the Colts are wanting to do in twenty six.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and when we saw him yesterday in the media room,

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Speaker 3: hey looked pretty good. I'm not saying he can go

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Speaker 3: out and play right now, obviously, don't be ridiculous, but

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Speaker 3: I mean the mobility look pretty good. And Jones says

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Speaker 3: that he wants to be ready to go, as we

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Speaker 3: heard right there in time for week one of the

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Speaker 3: regular season. And we just saw Jason Tatum come back

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Speaker 3: and he was what ten months removed from a torn achilles.

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Speaker 3: If Jones comes back, he'll be about nine months removed

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Speaker 3: from a torn achilles. So, like we justought, we talked

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Speaker 3: about this yesterday, it's just mind blowing the fact that

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Speaker 3: that significant of an injury now is able to be

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Speaker 3: rehabbed and you're able to come back and be a

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Speaker 3: similar type player, and that short amount of time just

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Speaker 3: goes to show you how freakish all of these professional

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Speaker 3: athletes are. I think there's a difference too between playing

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Speaker 3: quarterback and forward or a point guarden basketball. He also

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Speaker 3: said he wants to practice as much as possible, and

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Speaker 3: there's a big difference too between being out there week

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Speaker 3: one versus feeling like you're prepared and ready to go

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Speaker 3: week one, which means he'll need some time in training

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Speaker 3: camp in the preseason, so you don't rule that out.

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Speaker 3: So that's all great news for the Colts in terms

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Speaker 3: of Jones's health back on the team. From a contract standpoint,

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Speaker 3: health is trending in the right direction. So from Daniel

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Speaker 3: Jones's perspective and the Colt's perspective, this week, those two

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Speaker 3: sides put out some pretty important and big positive news

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Speaker 3: this week.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you talk about those important things with Daniel

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Speaker 2: Jones being in place, but I think we'd all agree

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Speaker 2: that one of those other important pieces that had to

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Speaker 2: fall was Alec Pierce being back. We've talked about that relationship,

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Speaker 2: and we know that Alec Pierce signed a four year

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Speaker 2: extension to stay with the Indianapolis Colts, and he made

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Speaker 2: it very clear that he wanted to stay with Indy

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Speaker 2: and play with Daniel Jones. So when you think about

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Speaker 2: Alec Pierce returning, we've seen what he has done. Seemingly

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Speaker 2: every year he has gotten better than the previous and

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Speaker 2: he's coming off that first career one thousand yard season

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Speaker 2: really kind of took, you know, a pretty massive jump,

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Speaker 2: I would say, from year three to year four. So

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Speaker 2: how important was his return to Indianapolis.

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Speaker 3: Well, he said this is where he wanted to be

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Speaker 3: all along. He enjoys the Colts coaching staff in the

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Speaker 3: locker room. By the way, I don't think this got

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Speaker 3: a whole lot of traction during the press conference. But

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Speaker 3: did you see Reggie Wayne peering into the press room,

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Speaker 3: And yes, I did. Watching Alec Pierce answer all of

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Speaker 3: those questions, he just had that big smile of satisfaction

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Speaker 3: and pride. I mean that was like a proud dad

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Speaker 3: answer questions getting that well deserved second contract. I mean

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Speaker 3: it's like Reggie Wayne was Pierce's guidance counselor in high

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Speaker 3: school and then you see your prized pupil get that

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Speaker 3: huge scholarship to Harvard and he aces the SATs. But yeah,

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Speaker 3: I mean Pierce's skill set going back to the football field.

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Speaker 3: That would be the hardest to replace because he provides

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Speaker 3: the big playability with those huge catches down the field,

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Speaker 3: but he also takes safeties away from the line of

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Speaker 3: scrimmage to help Jonathan Taylor in the running game. So

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Speaker 3: his presence on the field is really tough to duplicate.

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Speaker 3: And that's why, again I'll say it for the four

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Speaker 3: hundredth time, you pay premium players at premium positions in

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Speaker 3: the primes of their career.

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Speaker 2: And you know, one of the things about this new

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Speaker 2: contract for Alec Pierce is that he's going to take

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Speaker 2: on a bigger role because we know that Michael Pittman

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Speaker 2: is no longer in the fold. But he talked about

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Speaker 2: how that was what he wanted. He knew with the

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Speaker 2: position that he was in in free agency and what

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Speaker 2: that number was going to be, that he was going

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Speaker 2: to have to take on a bigger role and that's

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Speaker 2: something he's looking forward to.

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Speaker 6: People always asked me about the yards for catching and

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Speaker 6: they're like, oh, is this important to you? And to me,

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Speaker 6: I was always like, not necessarily, because I would rather

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Speaker 6: have I would take you know, more catches in more

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Speaker 6: yards all day than having you know, less catches and

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Speaker 6: getting a higher yards per catch because obviously every catch

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Speaker 6: you catch a slant for six yards on third and three,

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Speaker 6: that's gonna bring that number down.

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Speaker 4: But that's a that's a huge plan in the game.

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Speaker 6: So that's the type of stuff I'm on the take

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Speaker 6: on and become, you know, just do things like that

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Speaker 6: to help the team win.

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Speaker 4: It's gonna be big.

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Speaker 2: And when you think about, you know, that subtraction of

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Speaker 2: Michael Pittman and adding Pierce into kind of this new role,

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Speaker 2: what do you think that means for that role? And

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Speaker 2: then maybe the mindset of kind of the Colts offense,

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Speaker 2: if you will, because it eliminates what Michael Pittman kind

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Speaker 2: of was for this team.

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Speaker 3: Sure, I mean we've talked about it, Pierce has talked

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Speaker 3: about it. I mean, you can't make close to thirty

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Speaker 3: million dollars a year and get three to four targets

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Speaker 3: a game. It just it can't match up like that.

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Speaker 3: So the mission now for Pierce is to mix in

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Speaker 3: the big playability with the reliability and every other part

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Speaker 3: of his game. The clutch catches, the contested catches, high

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Speaker 3: volume of targets, and just being able to succeed in

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Speaker 3: every other route which he can. He has shown that.

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Speaker 3: So I mean the numbers, say, Pierce was targeted eighty

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Speaker 3: four times last year. That was a career high, but

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Speaker 3: that was fourth on the team right a year ago,

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Speaker 3: so that's got a change. Pittman was targeted at least

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Speaker 3: one hundred and eleven times in each of the last

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Speaker 3: five seasons. Wow, Pierce has been targeted more than eight times,

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Speaker 3: just seven times in his career, So that number is

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Speaker 3: gonna go way up. I'm telling you, Colts fans get

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Speaker 3: used to seeing number fourteen catch a lot of passes.

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Speaker 2: It's exactly right. Well, one of the things that we

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Speaker 2: have talked about here a little bit. I want to

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Speaker 2: dive into some audio from Alec Pierce on it, but

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Speaker 2: it's that relationship between he and Daniel Jones. They had

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Speaker 2: just one year together because Jones came over in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty five, but you could see that relationship continue to

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Speaker 2: blossom and I thought one of the things that was

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Speaker 2: interesting was hearing Alec Pierce talk about why he was

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Speaker 2: able to get so close with Daniel in such a

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Speaker 2: short amount of time.

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Speaker 6: I don't know, because it is it is shocking, like

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Speaker 6: he's only been here I've known him less than a

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Speaker 6: year now, and I feel like, you know, we're really tight,

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Speaker 6: so getting together last last offseason.

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Speaker 4: Just I mean, he's a he's a great guy.

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Speaker 6: He's a great guy to hang out with, and I

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Speaker 6: think he really stresses just like you know, being together.

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Speaker 4: With with the team.

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Speaker 6: And that's kind of how I've always been, like I

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Speaker 6: love like like I love OTA's favorite time of year

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Speaker 6: because you have this little half days and stuff, so

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Speaker 6: you got all this time on your hands, like afternoon

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Speaker 6: and everyone's in talent, so it's like try to do

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Speaker 6: something every day, whether it go like play golf or

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Speaker 6: go do whatever. Go I go to the park and

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Speaker 6: shoot hoops. Like you know, I'm just I'm just I

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Speaker 6: just like doing stuff and like hanging out with the boys,

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Speaker 6: you know, And I think that's good for like team

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Speaker 6: camaraderie and that that's something that's so important because I

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Speaker 6: always look back to college, like how you know, I

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Speaker 6: played at Universe Cincinnati. We had a lot of success

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Speaker 6: there and we were just so tight, and I figured

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Speaker 6: like once he got to the NFL, it was a

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Speaker 6: little different because obviously, you know, you're not all just

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Speaker 6: hanging out together and the same age, and.

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Speaker 4: In college really that's that's all you got going on.

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Speaker 4: You have that in class, like so you just hanging

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Speaker 4: out all the time.

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Speaker 6: But I think we started kind of getting back into

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Speaker 6: that where it's like I'm like really really close to

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Speaker 6: my teammates, Like all these guys in the team, like

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Speaker 6: these are like some of my best friends, you know,

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Speaker 6: and I think we we'd fight for each other, we

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Speaker 6: do whatever for each other.

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Speaker 2: So, you know, we were athletes, Matt, maybe not at

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Speaker 2: the level that that Alec Pearson Daniel Jones are, but

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Speaker 2: those are some of the things that I miss being

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Speaker 2: a teammate is is those relationships and those bonds with

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Speaker 2: your you know, your Feller teammates. That was some of

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Speaker 2: the things that I loved so much. And hearing that

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Speaker 2: out of Alec Pearson Daniel Jones clearly that was so

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Speaker 2: important for these guys to be back in idy that

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Speaker 2: relationship they have.

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Speaker 3: Dude, Casey, You're you're taking the words right out of

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Speaker 3: my mouth. That that's why I love sports. That's why

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Speaker 3: I loved playing football. Football sports are hard. Football is hard.

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Speaker 3: Not everybody can do it right, and when you do

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Speaker 3: do it, you build bonds with other guys. That are

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Speaker 3: going through that same thing. It's a tough sport to

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Speaker 3: play mentally and phi and Daniel Jones just gets it right.

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Speaker 3: So when he comes in here last March and he

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Speaker 3: goes all in on needing to have the locker room

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Speaker 3: buy into him and support him, going the extra mile

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Speaker 3: to earn their trust and respect, Guys like Alec Pierce

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Speaker 3: take notice, yep, and they buy in. And if you're Pierce,

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Speaker 3: and you know Jones brings the best from that standpoint,

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Speaker 3: but also brings the best out of you from a

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Speaker 3: skill set standpoint. You like playing with a guy like

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Speaker 3: that and you know what you're getting. And I think

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Speaker 3: that's a big reason why he wanted to come back

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Speaker 3: to the Colts. And not to sound too dramatic, but

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Speaker 3: that stuff matters. It does, and I think Jones feels

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Speaker 3: the same way about Pierce, and he feels the same

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Speaker 3: way about the coaching staff and the other guys on offense.

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Speaker 3: So I think you bring up a very good point.

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Speaker 3: It's a very underrated factor in why both guys wanted

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Speaker 3: to come back.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, relationships do matter, especially in sports, and we're definitely

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Speaker 2: seeing that come to fruition here for the Colts with

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Speaker 2: Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce. It's time for our first

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Speaker 2: time out here The Last Words, brought to you by

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Speaker 2: Vivid Seats. Vivid Seats the official fan experienced partner of

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Speaker 2: the Annapolis Colts. You can download the app to score

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Speaker 2: great deals on the events you love. But when we

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Speaker 2: come back, we're gonna also hear from the fallout of

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Speaker 2: the signing of Daniel Jones and Alec Pearson, what that

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Speaker 2: meant for the Indianapolis Colts and at sometimes in order

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Speaker 2: to do some of those signings, guys have to leave.

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Speaker 2: There are trades and all that. So we'll dive into

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Speaker 2: all that happened for the Colts from that standpoint when

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Speaker 2: we return right here on The Last Word ninety three

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Speaker 2: five and one oh seven five the Fan.

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Speaker 1: We now returned to the offseason home of the Colts,

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Speaker 1: The Last Word with Matt Taylor and Casey Valier from

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Speaker 1: the Indiana Union Construction Industry Radio Studio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Last Word, which is brought to

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Speaker 2: you by Meyer, the official super Center of the Indianapolis

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Speaker 2: Colts and proud sponsor of one hundred of local sports

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Speaker 2: teams across the Midwest. I'm Casey Value joined by Matt

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Speaker 2: Taylor inside the Indiana Union Construction Industry Radio Studios here

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Speaker 2: on the last word ninety three five one oh seven

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Speaker 2: to five the fan. As we mentioned in the previous segment,

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Speaker 2: Daniel Jones Pierce are back. But it also means there

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Speaker 2: are some changes that will happen to the roster when

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Speaker 2: you re sign guys like a quarterback and a top

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Speaker 2: tier wide receiver, and a couple of those moves we saw.

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Speaker 2: One of those was trading Zaire Franklin to the Packers

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Speaker 2: and Michael Pittman to the Steelers. So Franklin he was

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Speaker 2: a mainstay on the Colts defense since twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 2: And Pittman he has been one of the high volume

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Speaker 2: receivers the Colts have had over the last several years.

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Speaker 2: You talked about that those are some big shoes to

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Speaker 2: fill when you look at everything. What are the main

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Speaker 2: reasons for the Franklin trade and how do the Colts

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Speaker 2: really address linebacker with Jermaine Pratt also being unsigned to

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Speaker 2: this point.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I don't think you can say definitively

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Speaker 3: what the reasons were, but I mean it did free

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Speaker 3: up some cap space for the Colts which they had

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Speaker 3: to do when you want to prioritize, you know, bringing

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Speaker 3: back a quarterback and a prized wide receiver and free agency.

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Speaker 3: And the Colts just haven't they haven't shied away from

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Speaker 3: the idea of publicly saying they want to tweak their

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Speaker 3: defense in the offseason. So now the Colts are looking

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Speaker 3: for another leader on that defense. In the middle of

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Speaker 3: that defense, linebacker is a It's a position they drafted

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Speaker 3: well over the course of time under Chris Ballard and

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Speaker 3: his regime. But as it relates to the defense, I mean,

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Speaker 3: that's I don't want to paint with too broad of

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Speaker 3: a stroke here, but that's one of those positions that

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Speaker 3: maybe you can get by without having to dedicate big

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Speaker 3: money to here in the offseason.

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Speaker 2: And then when you look at it from the Pittman side,

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Speaker 2: you know, what was the big reason for the Michael

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Speaker 2: Pittman trade. We know that financially it was there as well,

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Speaker 2: but you know that's a big guy to replace. When

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Speaker 2: you look at this Colts offense, yeah.

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Speaker 3: To that one. You know, I just think it boils

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Speaker 3: down to Pearson Jones. I mean, it's tough to have

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Speaker 3: an offense that consists of a forty million dollars quarterback

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Speaker 3: and two receivers, potentially making over twenty million dollars. His

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Speaker 3: toughness is leadership. I mean that's it's tough to replace.

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Speaker 3: I mean, he sacrificed so much for the Colts and

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Speaker 3: played hurt more than people realize, and really bought into

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Speaker 3: the culture of the Colts in the running game. So

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Speaker 3: this is just a clear definition or example case that

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Speaker 3: the NFL is cruel. It's a bottom line deal and

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Speaker 3: the Colts had to make a tough decision there when

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Speaker 3: it comes to trading him. But they do trade him

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Speaker 3: to a place where he's going to be really valuable.

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Speaker 3: He's already got another contract with the Steelers. The Colts

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Speaker 3: do clear up some cap space. But I just think

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Speaker 3: it really boiled down to if you're the Colts to

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Speaker 3: invest more in Pierce now or invest more in Pittman

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Speaker 3: later going into a third contract now.

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Speaker 2: Also, we did see some other additions we talked about

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Speaker 2: the Zaire Franklin trade to the Packers. The Colts did

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Speaker 2: receive Colby Wooden, who's you know, he started sixteen games

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Speaker 2: defensive tackle, from the Packers, so they get him in return.

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Speaker 2: With the Pittman trade, they got an additional sixth round

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Speaker 2: Comppick for next year's draft from the Steelers, but they

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Speaker 2: also signed defensive end Arden Key, who spent time with

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Speaker 2: the Titans a year ago, former Jets defensive end Michael Clemens,

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Speaker 2: and then also form a defensive tackle from the Chiefs

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Speaker 2: Derek Noddy. When you think about the impact, who do

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Speaker 2: you think the biggest impact of those players are going

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Speaker 2: to be?

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Speaker 3: Well, I mean those players I think give you a

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Speaker 3: good depth along the defensive line. I mean it wouldn't

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Speaker 3: started every game last year for the Packers, and that's

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Speaker 3: a good player for player deal for Franklin. He projects

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Speaker 3: as a guy who can back up to Forrest Buckner

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Speaker 3: in the interior of the defense, and that's important because Buckner,

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Speaker 3: as we know, is coming off a major neck injury.

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Speaker 3: Key and Clemens project as nice rotational pieces and guys

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Speaker 3: that you can count on to play in waves and

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Speaker 3: make sure you're fresh and get to the quarterback. Those

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Speaker 3: guys play the run pretty well. Neither guy, though, has

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Speaker 3: been dominant in terms of sack totals or playing time

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Speaker 3: throughout the course of their career. But they give the

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Speaker 3: Colts good depth and I still think the Colts are

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Speaker 3: still in search for more consistency and more impact along

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Speaker 3: their defensive line compared to last year.

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Speaker 2: Now, when you also think about the other departures we've

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Speaker 2: talked about, you know, Sire Franklin, Michael Pittman were traded,

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Speaker 2: but also Quitty Pay signed with the Raiders, Samson ebacom

437
00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,240
Speaker 2: with the Falcons, Braden Smith signed with the Texans so

438
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,520
Speaker 2: the Colts could see him twice a year. Neville Gallimore

439
00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,600
Speaker 2: signed with the Bears, safety Nick Cross has signed with

440
00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,000
Speaker 2: the Commanders, and then also safety Rodney Tom has signed

441
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,040
Speaker 2: with Seattle. So when you think about that collection, throwing

442
00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,040
Speaker 2: in Zaire Franklin and Michael Pittman, the Colts have lost

443
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,800
Speaker 2: five starters from last year's team between trades and free agency,

444
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,200
Speaker 2: does that they give you a little bit of worry

445
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:13,400
Speaker 2: a little bit? Yeah?

446
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's hard to not look at the

447
00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,200
Speaker 3: ledger and not have it raise an eyebrow a little bit.

448
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,360
Speaker 3: I mean, I get that it's March, right and we're

449
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,080
Speaker 3: still six months away from playing games, but we're doing

450
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,840
Speaker 3: a show now, right, and we're reacting to it now,

451
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,919
Speaker 3: So it does give you pause. And I know I

452
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,760
Speaker 3: said this yesterday when we did the daily update, Casey.

453
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,159
Speaker 3: But this is the reality of the NFL. The NFL

454
00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,080
Speaker 3: really boils down to, if you're the Colts or any

455
00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,240
Speaker 3: other team, how do you keep your premium players at

456
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,240
Speaker 3: premium positions who are in the primes of their career.

457
00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,640
Speaker 3: That's what every team has to prioritize. That describes Daniel Jones,

458
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,720
Speaker 3: that describes Alec Pierce. Those are the two guys that

459
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,040
Speaker 3: would be the toughest to replace in the offseason. But

460
00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,560
Speaker 3: those moves don't come without concessions, because, as you said,

461
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,520
Speaker 3: the Colts have lost a lot of time talent from

462
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,560
Speaker 3: last year's team that started the year real strong, when

463
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,960
Speaker 3: everybody was healthy, when you were eight and two to

464
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,720
Speaker 3: begin the year. So you've lost your starting right tackle,

465
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,560
Speaker 3: a starting defensive end, a starting safety, and a number

466
00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:18,159
Speaker 3: two wide receiver. So between Franklin, Pittman, Quitty Braden, and

467
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,359
Speaker 3: Cross that's added up to over forty six hundred snaps

468
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,840
Speaker 3: from last year. And those five guys combined have racked

469
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,000
Speaker 3: up three hundred and eighty five career starts in Colt's uniforms.

470
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,119
Speaker 3: So that's not nothing. So the NFL is a ruthless business.

471
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,680
Speaker 3: You can't keep everybody you have to let good players

472
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,879
Speaker 3: go every year. But that's just the reality of the business.

473
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,080
Speaker 3: When you have to dedicate a big money contract for

474
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,680
Speaker 3: your quarterback and keep a premium position like wide receiver,

475
00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,600
Speaker 3: it's a ripple effect around the rest of your roster.

476
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,720
Speaker 2: Now, I think it's a good transition to go into

477
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,120
Speaker 2: the MJ Company's Rookie report because we talked about Nick

478
00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 2: Cross and then also you know Rodney Thomas, one of

479
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 2: those back end guys there at the safety position. They're

480
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,840
Speaker 2: both gone now in free agency, and I think it

481
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,560
Speaker 2: really ties its hand well to rookie Hunter Wohler from

482
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,199
Speaker 2: last year. He didn't get a play because of that

483
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,600
Speaker 2: lisz Frank injury, but you know, do you think he

484
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:15,359
Speaker 2: is ready to be a guy to step in because

485
00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:17,840
Speaker 2: we saw what he could do there early in training

486
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,840
Speaker 2: camp before that injury. He looked like a guy who

487
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,720
Speaker 2: would have a role inside this defense.

488
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:22,120
Speaker 3: Man hundred percent.

489
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:22,320
Speaker 4: Men.

490
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,440
Speaker 3: He was shown he could play safety, he could play

491
00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,520
Speaker 3: diame linebacker, he was going to be a contributor on

492
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,080
Speaker 3: special teams. I remember he had two picks in that

493
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,879
Speaker 3: joint practice off the Raymar Jackson against the Ravens, and

494
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,359
Speaker 3: you're like, all right, this guy can play. Who is

495
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:35,880
Speaker 3: this guy?

496
00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:36,920
Speaker 2: But you're right.

497
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,680
Speaker 3: I mean, with the departure of Cross and Rodney, Thomas

498
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,880
Speaker 3: Wohler is squarely in the mix to start on defense,

499
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,840
Speaker 3: assuming he can come back healthy for the start of

500
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,440
Speaker 3: training camp. And that might be a big assumption because

501
00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:50,880
Speaker 3: I don't know where he's at health wise. I mean,

502
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:52,359
Speaker 3: we talked to him at the end of the season

503
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,560
Speaker 3: on locker room clearout day and he still had a

504
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,480
Speaker 3: ways to go. And he's also never played a regular

505
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,280
Speaker 3: season down of football the NFL. So again, I think

506
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,440
Speaker 3: last year he was projecting to be at least a

507
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,640
Speaker 3: dime linebacker and a situational contributor. Now you could see

508
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,720
Speaker 3: him in the mix that strong safety. But are we

509
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:13,720
Speaker 3: going to see him in the spring? If he's not

510
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,879
Speaker 3: out there in the spring, if he's not out there

511
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:17,960
Speaker 3: at the beginning of training camp, can you trust him?

512
00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,960
Speaker 3: Is that too much of miss time for him to

513
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,400
Speaker 3: morph into that role? I mean, the roster is incredibly

514
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,120
Speaker 3: fluid right now. There's a lot of questions.

515
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 2: I have a lot of questions and hopefully we have

516
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 2: more and more answers as the weeks go on. But

517
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,760
Speaker 2: that is your rookie update presented by MJ Companies, Your

518
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:35,960
Speaker 2: Future in focus. Time for a quick time out, we

519
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,880
Speaker 2: come back. We're going to talk about the Forum Credit

520
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,760
Speaker 2: Union Question of the Week, which centers around the Colts

521
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,440
Speaker 2: pass rush and the possible moves there by the team

522
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 2: in the coming days or weeks. This is the Last

523
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 2: Word on ninety three five and one oh seven five

524
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:47,840
Speaker 2: The Fan.

525
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,080
Speaker 1: This is your weekly fix on Colts football, The Last

526
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 1: Word with Matt Taylor and Casey Valier from the Indiana

527
00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,920
Speaker 1: Union Construction Industry Radio Studio.

528
00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,720
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Last Word, Final time here. It's

529
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:04,919
Speaker 2: brought to you by Vivid Seats. Vivid Seats, the official

530
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,040
Speaker 2: fan experience partner of the Indianapolis Colts. Download the APT

531
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,720
Speaker 2: to score great deals on the events you love. Casey

532
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,680
Speaker 2: Valier along with Matt Taylor inside the Indiana Union Construction

533
00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,760
Speaker 2: Industry Radio Studios and we've been talking about free agency

534
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:18,760
Speaker 2: all night here and that brings us to the Forum

535
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,359
Speaker 2: Credit Union question of the week, Matt, which what is

536
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,600
Speaker 2: the state of the Colts pass rush heading into next season?

537
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,560
Speaker 2: And then also when you look at that free agency list,

538
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,359
Speaker 2: who are some names that are left that the Colts

539
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:31,120
Speaker 2: could sign.

540
00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,800
Speaker 3: Well as of right now, let's just look at the Ledger, right.

541
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,640
Speaker 3: You've lost Quiddy pay and Samson Ebacom. Replace those guys

542
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,080
Speaker 3: with arden Key and Michael Clemens.

543
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:41,680
Speaker 2: Yep. The Colts have.

544
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:47,000
Speaker 3: Probably objectively gotten faster and cheaper, but the players that

545
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,760
Speaker 3: they have brought in haven't historically put up huge sack

546
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,800
Speaker 3: numbers in the past, like we talked about. And one

547
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,399
Speaker 3: thing to consider here, you and I were kind of

548
00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,040
Speaker 3: kicking this around before we started the show. Most teams

549
00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:01,359
Speaker 3: carry five defensive ends on an active roster in the

550
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:04,920
Speaker 3: regular season. So if you're playing a game today, those

551
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:10,840
Speaker 3: guys would be Liatu Latu, jt Tuamolowaal, Michael Clemens, and

552
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,600
Speaker 3: arden Key. That's four yep, Which means the Colts probably

553
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,880
Speaker 3: have one more substantial move left in them at defensive

554
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,199
Speaker 3: end in the offseason, whether that's a free agent or

555
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,439
Speaker 3: a draft pick at a premium selection, either in the

556
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 3: second round or the third round. So do the Colts

557
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,200
Speaker 3: need more pop there between now in the regular season?

558
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,160
Speaker 3: My opinion is yes, yep.

559
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:34,600
Speaker 2: I would agree with that completely, and you know you

560
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,439
Speaker 2: mentioned it there. Whether it comes in free agency or

561
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 2: the draft is something we will continue to watch. But

562
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,919
Speaker 2: I also look at what that free agency list looks like.

563
00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:46,160
Speaker 2: And some of those top names have found new homes.

564
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 2: You talked about the proven production. That's where you're starting

565
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,400
Speaker 2: to get into those guys that don't have that track record.

566
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:53,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, as we sit here and talk right now,

567
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,399
Speaker 3: I mean the marquee names. When it comes to defensive end,

568
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 3: you got Joey Bosa is still out there, Arnold Ebakati

569
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 3: is out there, Cameron Jordan. But again, do these guys

570
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 3: move the needle enough in terms of a contract to

571
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,960
Speaker 3: give the Colts what they need in terms of consistency

572
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 3: in that pass rush. So you gotta have the right

573
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,919
Speaker 3: guy plus the right price point to complement what you

574
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 3: already have on the roster. So we'll see if there's

575
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 3: any movement there this weekend.

576
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 2: It's fascinating and we'll continue to follow that and if

577
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,160
Speaker 2: anything happens, we will keep you up to date on

578
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 2: all of that. You can definitely follow us at Colts

579
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,680
Speaker 2: dot com for any moves that happen. But that is

580
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,720
Speaker 2: the forum Credit Union question of the week. You can

581
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 2: visit the forum credit Union fanforum section of Colts dot

582
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:35,720
Speaker 2: com where you can interact with other fans online, post

583
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,720
Speaker 2: a topic and participate in various discussions regarding the Colts

584
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 2: Forum Credit Union, helping members live their financial dreams. That's

585
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,199
Speaker 2: all the time we have for you tonight here on

586
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,200
Speaker 2: the last word Formatt Taylor, I am Casey Value. Thanks

587
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,200
Speaker 2: a lot for joining us here. It is the Nix

588
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,879
Speaker 2: and Pacers right next, Let's go surge right here in

589
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:54,439
Speaker 2: ninety three five, one oh seventy five the

590
00:26:54,480 --> 00:27:06,800
Speaker 1: Fan spar and Father Placus Cassidy as the group second

591
00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:07,880
Speaker 1: and father sp