Winner: Colts hang onto Jack Doyle, trade Dwayne Allen
The Indianapolis Colts didn’t make any huge splashes, but they made a couple savvy moves under rookie general manager Chris Ballard, both revolving around tight ends.
First off, the Colts managed to keep tight end Jack Doyle from hitting the open market, signing him to a deal Tuesday (more on that here).
Doyle was an up-and-coming player for Indy last year in his first real season as a featured player. He emerged as a go-to receiving option when Coby Fleener left in free agency last year, catching 59 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns.
Then on Wednesday, Ballard engineered a trade that sent Dwayne Allen to the New England Patriots (details here).
Allen has always been a guy who was supposed to be a big playmaker for Indy but never really lived up to his promise. He’s a tremendous red-zone weapon but just isn’t as consistent as Doyle. Furthermore, the Colts must have faith that second-year tight end Erik Swoope is ready to make a bigger impact in 2017.
Not letting Doyle leave via free agency was a huge win for this team, as was landing draft currency for a player who never really fit in.