Chuck Pagano on Mike Adams: "Fully Expect Him to Come Back and Play at a High Level"

As the new league year gets closer, NFL teams are working on bringing back soon-to-be free agents before they hit the open market.  For the Colts, they don't really have any big-name player who's contract will expire but there are certainly a couple of notable players who the Colts absolutely want to bring back.  One such player is safety Mike Adams.

"He played really good football for us," head coach Chuck Pagano said at the Combine on Thursday.  "Great football.  He was a calming force in the secondary for us.  He was the quarterback of that secondary for us.  He's still got good football left in him.  There's still gas left in the tank.  Try to tell him that there isn't and you'll have yourself a fist fight on your hands.  He's been playing with a chip on his shoulder for a long, long time.  Fully expect him to come back and play at a high level."

General manager Ryan Grigson agreed, saying that, "we'd love to have Mike back.  I mean obviously, a June signing that goes to the Pro Bowl is a good thing.  He never played like he was long in the tooth.  He did some really good things for us."

Grigson did note that, "of course we'd love to have all these guys back" and that the Colts are always looking to solidify each position group.  With that said, however, Grigson did say that the Colts would like to bring Adams back.

The 11-year veteran will be will turn 34 years old this offseason, but he enjoyed the best season of his career in 2014 with the Colts.  He either set or tied career highs in tackles (87), passes defensed (11), interceptions (5), and forced fumbles (2), tying for the NFL lead in takeaways for the season.  In addition, Adams was named to his first career Pro Bowl for his play.

With a lot of questions at the safety position for the Colts and with only two players currently under contract for 2015 (Winston Guy and Dewey McDonald), it's clearly a position that the Colts need to address.  One such move could be bringing back Mike Adams, and after listening to both Chuck Pagano and Ryan Grigson talk at the Combine today it is fully expected that the Colts will indeed bring back the veteran safety this offseason.

Talking about the release of LaRon Landry, Chuck Pagano mentioned that, "I'm confident that we'll be fine at the [safety] spot."  Re-signing Mike Adams would be a significant step toward helping fans to feel the same way and it sounds like that move is absolutely expected to happen.