While the playoffs are still going on, the Indianapolis Colts are now fully focused on the offseason.
One of their first duties will be to evaluate their in-house free agents to decide who they would like back in 2024.
I decided to do the same and begin an off-season series looking at the Colts in in-house free agents and, one by one, share my prediction on whether they will stay with Indianapolis for 2024 or have played their final game as a Colt.
Part 1 of this series covered Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr., and today, we jump to the other side of the ball to discuss safety Julian Blackmon.
Julian Blackmon:
The Colts drafted Blackmon with the 85th pick in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 50 games during his four-year career and has been a starter for 46. During that span, he had seven interceptions and 214 total tackles.
Blackmon's main struggle has been staying healthy, as he still has not been able to complete an entire season in the NFL. This season, he finally looked to be on track before being placed on the IR surprisingly after Week 15. This was extra devasting when you look at the fact that Blackmon was having a career season.
He led the Colts with four interceptions, which was a career-high for him; he also set a career-high in pass deflections with eight.
Should he stay or should he go?:
In my opinion, Blackmon should be the number one priority to retain on the defensive side of the ball. First of all, he is only 25 and was the best player on the team's secondary this past season. And that was made even clearer after he went on IR, and the drop in play at the safety position was so drastic.
Blackmon mans the SS position but also has a very diverse role on the defense, where he is asked to wear many hats. And he has been impressive in every role he is given. In Chris Ballard's end-of-season presser, he stressed that the team needs better and more consistent play out of their FS position but also highlighted just how good Blackmon was this season.
I think before the injury, Blackmon had earned a long-term contract extension with the Colts. And while I think he still deserves it, I wouldn't be shocked if he decided to take a one-year prove-it type deal with the Colts to attempt to put together a full season next year and earn a more lucrative extension.
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