Report: Colts not expected to have serious interest in Paul Kruger

Yesterday, the Cleveland Browns cut veteran outside linebacker Paul Kruger, and he’s already getting looks - he’s in New Orleans visiting the Saints today, and he’s reportedly visiting the Kansas City Chiefs next. Though many have wondered whether the Indianapolis Colts might take interest, it doesn’t sound likely.

The Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder wrote today that “you should not expect the Colts to take a serious interest” in Kruger. Holder added that since Kruger’s role is to set the edge, it’s not a role the Colts are looking to fill right now. They have Erik Walden there and to some degree Trent Cole can set the edge as well, so Kruger isn’t the most pressing option to bring in.

Furthermore, as we pointed out yesterday, the reality of the situation is that he wouldn’t be a clear upgrade at outside linebacker either - whether at the rush spot or the strongside spot. The interest in him will also very likely drive his cost up, and while the Colts have some cap space to work with (about $10 million), I don’t think they’re going to want to spend a significant chunk of it on a guy like Paul Kruger. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Colts aren’t expected to have serious interest in Kruger, as just thinking about the situation should have underscored that as well.

The connections that initially caused Colts fans to begin asking about Kruger are twofold: firstly, he worked with Chuck Pagano and Ted Monachino in Baltimore; and secondly, the Colts could use some help at outside linebacker. But the other factors involved made it unlikely, and Holder’s post today seems to confirm that the Colts aren’t expected to pursue Kruger. They’ll very likely look at some other cuts, but it doesn’t sound like Kruger will be one of them.