Dwight Freeney said this week that he plans to stay in Indianapolis. But that may not be in the cards.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Colts are fielding calls from teams interested in trading for Freeney.
The Colts just signed defensive end Robert Mathis to a new contract that pays him $17 million this year, and it might not make sense for them to also keep Freeney on his current deal, which pays him a base salary of more than $14 million. So it’s not surprising that a trade is an option.
However, Schefter also writes that the Colts aren’t going to give Freeney up for nothing: They’re only going to trade him if they think they’re getting fair value in return.
The question is whether any other team will want to pay Freeney more than $14 million. He’s one of the best pass rushers of his generation, but he’s also 32 years old, and his sack totals have declined from 13.5 in 2009 to 10.0 in 2010 to 8.5 in 2011. A base salary that high may be hard to justify for a player whose best years are behind him.