Report: Jerrell Freeman will have options, but Colts "still in the picture"

Jerrell Freeman is now officially a free agent, but it sounds like the Indianapolis Colts aren't out of the running to sign the inside linebacker.  According to the Indianapolis Star's Stephen Holder, Freeman will have options but that the Colts are "still in the picture."

I'm told Colts are still in the picture on ILB Jerrell Freeman, so it ain't over. He'll likely have options though.

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 9, 2016

A report last night from Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson said that the Chiefs had interest in Freeman, while today ESPN's Vaughn McClure said that he expects the Falcons to sign the linebacker.  Those two franchises could be among the Colts' competition to sign Freeman, then.

With the Colts, it really boils down to this: are they willing to pay Freeman what he thinks he's worth?  Based on his comments on SiriusXM NFL Radio recently, it seems as if Freeman would like to return to the Colts but is ready to get his payday rather than playing for cheap like he has been.  There's nothing wrong with Freeman looking to get paid now, as he has earned just $3.816 million over his first four years in the NFL combined.  He wanted a long-term deal last offseason, but the Colts kept him around on a restricted free agent tender and he eventually decided to play under the tender for a season.  Plus, he'll be 30 years old when the 2016 season starts, so this could be his best chance at getting a nice contract in the NFL.  In four seasons with the Colts, Freeman has started 57 games and has recorded 478 tackles, 12 sacks, 16 passes defensed, four picks, eight forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.

It would be great if the Colts could keep Freeman around, and the good news is that it sounds like they're definitely not out of it.  The bad news, however, is that it sounds like there are several other teams interested as well.