The One Contract Holding Back the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts had to fill a gaping hole in their team last year when Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired. They went from playoff favorites to being one of the biggest question marks in the league. They have plenty of issues they need to address, and they need cap space to do it. They've already addressed the quarterback position by signing Philip Rivers and drafting their anticipated leader of the future in Jacob Eason; however, that leaves a particularly expensive loose end.

The Colts need to do something about Jacoby Brissett.

No one doubts that Rivers is going to be the starter in 2020. He's been a top quarterback for years, and his arrival in free agency effectively crushed Brissett's chances of taking the reins. With Eason, the Colts have a promising backup and a project to work on, and that leaves no room for a guy who's going to count for $21 million against the salary cap in 2020.

If the Colts were to release Brissett, they would save $9 million in cap space that could be allocated elsewhere on the roster. Wasting that money on a fourth quarterback would be foolish, but there's no guarantee they could get their money's worth out of removing Brissett.

A trade would be ideal because they would save themselves from the cap hit and acquire something for giving up an asset like Brissett. The trouble is that the current QB market is saturated. Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, and Joe Flacco are all still available as free agents, and they're all cheaper and arguably more valuable than Brissett.

It's got Indianapolis in quite the snag.

The Colts can't afford to have a $21 million backup, so removing Brissett should be a priority. Hopefully, those New England trade rumors turn out to be true.

Otherwise, they'll be held way back.