8 players who can cash in big with strong a 2022 season

The Indianapolis Colts are one of the more proactive teams when it comes to signing contract extensions before a player officially hits the market. But even they need to wait and see what happens during contract years sometimes.

The Colts have a number of relevant players heading into the final year of their current contracts. Some of them might receive an extension before the start of the regular season as Nyheim Hines, Braden Smith and Darius Leonard did.

Some may not receive an extension until the Colts realize they’ll be priced out in free agency as in the case of Grover Stewart.

Others may not even receive an extension even though we believe they have a strong chance to get one with a solid season.

Regardless of whether it winds up being with the Colts or another team, there are several players with their eyes on getting a pay upgrade following the 2022 season.

Here are eight Colts with the chance to cash in big next offseason with strong campaigns in 2022:

Note: We are not including Quenton Nelson on this list because he’s already expected to receive a new contract at some point in the future.

1
RB Jonathan Taylor

Syndication: The Indianapolis Star

I know, I know. You don’t pay running backs. I even agree with the overall philosophy that running back contracts rarely ever age well. But the Colts probably have no choice in the matter.

Taylor isn’t eligible to sign a contract extension until after the 2022 campaign because then his third season will be completed. However, another dominant campaign from Taylor means the Colts are going to have to pay up for the league’s best running back.

Just 23 years old, Taylor is heading toward a big payday. The positive news is that the early years of the second contract will be during Taylor’s age-24 and 25 seasons, which is just before the cliff for running backs. Once they start entering the age 26 season, production declines heavily.

Taylor may very well be an outlier, and the Colts can’t let him walk in free agency simply because he’s a running back. He’s going to get paid heavily, and maybe the Colts can front-load the contract during the early years in order to avoid heavy guarantees later.

But if Taylor again approaches the rushing title for the second year in a row, we should expect a contract extension around this time next year.

2
WR Michael Pittman Jr.

AP Photo/Jeff…