Paye had the fifth-year option on his contract exercised Thursday, Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star reports.
Paye had a successful third NFL season in 2023, recording career highs across the board, with 52 combined tackles, including 8.5 sacks. He also forced and recovered two fumbles. The Michigan product should now remain an integral part of the Colts' pass rush for the next two seasons.
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Colts' Jaylon Carlies: Moving to linebacker
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Carlies is expected to transition to linebacker after playing safety in college, George Bremer of The Anderson Herald Bulletin reports.
There were questions about Carlies' coverage ability coming out of Missouri and entering the 2024 NFL Draft, but his speed and playmaking skills still earned him a fifth-round selection by the Colts. Due to those skills, along with his soundness as a tackler, the transition to linebacker makes sense for the 22-year-old.
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Colts' Daniel Scott: Enters competition
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Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said Wednesday that Scott (knee) will have an opportunity to earn the Colts' starting free safety job during training camp and the preseason, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.
Scott was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he missed the entirety of his rookie campaign after suffering a torn ACL during OTAs last June. It's still not clear when the California product will be 100 percent -- or if he already is -- but the team at least thinks he'll be healthy enough to compete for a starting role heading into Week 1. Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas represent his primary competition.
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Colts' Rodney Thomas: Facing competition
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Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said Wednesday that Thomas will have to compete for the Colts' starting free safety job in 2024, James Boyd of The Athletic reports.
Thomas started 15 of 17 games last season, but that doesn't mean he'll maintain his spot atop the depth chart heading into 2024. Bradley stated that both Daniel Scott (knee) and Nick Cross will have the opportunity to take the job from Thomas, who finished the 2023 campaign with 34 tackles, four pass breakups and two interceptions.
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Colts' Jonah Laulu: Snagged by Indianapolis
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The Colts selected Laulu in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 234th overall.
Laulu is projected to be the Colts' final player in their 2024 NFL Draft class, and he profiles to be a run-staffing lineman. He began his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to Oklahoma. Indianapolis is fairly deep at tackle -- led by DeForest Buckner -- so Laulu may need to find another roster to ultimately stick as a pro.
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Colts' Micah Abraham: Yet another corner to Indy
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The Colts selected Abraham in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 201st overall.
That now makes three corners selected in a row by the Colts, who predictably opted not to bolster the positional group throughout the first two days of the draft. A three-year starter at Marshall, Abraham is undersized (5-foot-9), but he does have a natural instinct to break for the ball, as evidenced by his 55 career collegiate pass breakups. Indianapolis needs one of these corners to emerge as a key piece for 2024.
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Colts' Jaylon Carlies: Goes to Indy in Round 5
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The Colts selected Carlies in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 151st overall.
Carlies is the latest draftee from a Missouri defense that was loaded with NFL talent in 2023. A safety, Carlies checks in at 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds with 4.5 speed. He showed good playmaking skills with nine career interceptions, but he's also a willing tackler with at least 60 stops in each of his final three seasons. At that size, Carlies can play in the box and close to the line of scrimmage, but there are questions about his coverage ability.
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Rashod Berry: Reinstated from suspension
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The NFL reinstated Berry from suspension Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Berry was waived by the Colts shortly after receiving his one-year suspension for violating the NFL's gambling policy last offseason, but he's now been reinstated. During his two seasons in Indianapolis, the 27-year-old appeared in just eight games and recorded four total tackles. Now that he's been reinstated, Berry will attempt to make another roster this offseason.
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Colts' DeForest Buckner: Gets two-year extension
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Buckner and the Colts agreed to terms Monday on a two-year, $46 million contract extension, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Buckner penned a four-year, $84 million extension with Indianapolis back in 2020, when the team traded the No. 13 overall pick in that year's draft to the 49ers in exchange for the defensive tackle, and he now inks a substantial extension to remain with the Colts through 2026. The 30-year-old tallied a career-high 81 total tackles across 17 regular-season games last season, and he's logged 8.0 sacks in back-to-back years.
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Colts' Julian Blackmon: Staying with Indy
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Blackmon is slated to return to the Colts on a one-year deal, Jordan Schultz of BleacherReport.com reports.
During the 2023 regular season Blackmon recorded 88 tackles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries in 15 games with the Colts. Now that he's back with the team and presumably past a late-season shoulder issue, the 2020 third-rounder is poised to maintain his key role in Indy's secondary and occupy a starting safety slot in 2024.
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Colts' Taven Bryan: Returning to Indianapolis
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Bryan re-signed with the Colts on a one-year contract Tuesday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Bryan joined the franchise last season and appeared in all 17 games, recording 22 combined tackles, including 2.0 sacks, with a forced fumble. He should handle a similar depth role on the team's defensive line in 2024.
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Browns' Tony Brown: Heading to Cleveland
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Brown and the Browns agreed on a one-year contact Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Brown will head to Cleveland after spending the last two seasons with the Colts, most recently recording 10 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass deflection over 12 contests in 2023. The cornerback will likely operate in a special-teams role with the Browns in 2024.
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Colts' Ronnie Harrison: Re-ups with Colts for one year
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Harrison re-signed with the Colts on a one-year contract Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Harrison appeared in seven games for Indianapolis in 2023, notching 20 tackles (11 solo) and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He could be in line to compete for a starting role in 2024 if the Colts don't bring in another safety via free agency or the 2024 NFL Draft.
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Colts' Kenny Moore: Gets new deal from Colts
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Moore has agreed to re-sign with the Colts for three years and $30 million.
Moore rebounded from a down season in 2022, looking more like the 2021 Pro Bowl version of himself last year. His efforts will now make him the highest-paid nickelback in NFL history. The 28-year-old should maintain the same role in 2024 and will work to build off his successful 2023 campaign.
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Colts' Grover Stewart: Staying in Indy
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The Colts agreed to re-sign Stewart on Tuesday to a three-year, $39 million deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Stewart has played in Indianapolis since being drafted by the team in 2017. He missed six games in 2023 due to a suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy but otherwise started all 11 of the Colts' games en route to 41 tackles (23 solo), including 0.5 sacks. The 30-year-old has proven durability by missing just two games across the prior six seasons. He projects to again start next to DeForest Buckner on the interior defensive line in 2024.
The Colts signed Franklin to a three-year, $31.3 million contract extension Monday, Stephen Holder of ESPN reports.
Franklin, who was No. 2 in the NFL last season with 179 tackles (107 solo), was already under contract for 2024, but this extension leaves him set to start at middle linebacker in Indianapolis for the foreseeable future. The 2018 seventh-round pick began his career as a special-teams ace but has since transformed into a verifiable fantasy standout in IDP formats.
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Colts' Segun Olubi: Makes 26 tackles in 2023
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Olubi notched 26 tackles (20 solo), one pass defensed, one interception and one fumble recovery across 15 regular-season games with the Colts in 2023.
Olubi missed two games due to a hip injury in 2023, and when healthy handled mostly a special-teams role for Indianapolis. He did start one game, Week 9 versus Carolina, and finished with six tackles (four solo), one pass breakup and one INT. Olubi is set to become an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason.
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Colts' Dayo Odeyingbo: Manages 8.0 sacks in 2023
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Odeyingbo logged 38 tackles (22 solo), 8.0 sacks, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries across 17 regular-season games with the Colts in 2023.
Odeyingbo, a 2021 second-round pick, put together career-high numbers across the board in 2023. He's begun to find success as a key rotational pass rusher in Indianapolis' defensive scheme, and in 2024 Odeyingbo's numbers could uptick again if he's able to more consistently handle above 50 percent of defensive snaps.
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Colts' Nick Cross: Impresses in Year 2
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Cross racked up 39 tackles (24 solo), two pass breakups and one interception across 17 regular-season games with the Colts in 2023.
Cross began his sophomore season playing mostly on special teams, but he increased his role on defense after Indianapolis' bye in Week 11, then stepped into a starting role for the final three games of the season due to an injury to Julian Blackmon (shoulder). Blackmon is now slated for free agency, so there's a possible path for Cross to take on a larger defensive role during the 2024 campaign, especially considering that he performed solidly in limited action in 2023.
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Colts' Grover Stewart: Plays 11 games in 2023
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Stewart racked up 41 tackles (23 solo) and a half-sack across 11 regular-season games with the Colts in 2023.
Stewart missed six games due to a suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy, but he otherwise started in all 11 of the Colts' contests. The veteran's numbers dipped from his 70-tackle, four-sack season in 2022, but the quality of his play on the field remained steady. Stewart is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, though the Colts could be motivated to re-sign him.
