Colts want to retain MLB Brackett without franchise tag

According to the Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian, it is unlikely for the team to keep middle linebacker Gary Brackett in Colts jerseys by using the franchise tag although they hope to keep him on their roster. They could do something better before the March 5 deadline for free agency.

“We still have about 24 hours to decide what we want to do and we continue to talk,” Polian said. “I can’t tell you what we’ll do one way or the other. But as far as the franchise tag, I would think that we would not use that.”

The reason Polian offered for not using tag on Brackett was simply that they do not want to pay the nearly $9.7 million of tag amount. It’s just too much for the reigning AFC champion team, who are also going to work on a contract extension with four-time league MVP Peyton Manning. The Colts have said that they would make Manning the highest-paid quarterback in the league by offering him a contract extension. The extension has not been done because the team has to wait until the league officially announces there will be no salary cap next season.