Colts sign John Simon

The Indianapolis Colts have made another free agent move, as they reportedly have signed Texans outside linebacker John Simon. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, it’s a three-year deal worth $13.5 million. The Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder reports that $6 million of that will be paid this year.

Simon was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Ravens, but he only spent one season in Baltimore before he was cut. He signed with the Texans, however, and spent the last three years in Houston. In his career, he has played in 45 games and started 13 of them, recording 120 tackles, ten sacks, a forced fumble, and three passes defensed. He recorded 9.5 sacks over the last two seasons with Houston, really settling in to a pass rush role.

He’s just 26 years old and has shown good situational pass rush ability, so this is a good signing for the Colts. With the top pass rushers not even hitting free agency, this is a move that’s worth making, since Simon has shown some pass rush ability. He hasn’t really been a full-time starter yet in the NFL, but with the Colts he could see an increase in playing time.

This is the biggest move the Colts have made money-wise yet in free agency (not including re-signing Jack Doyle), and this isn’t a bad move to address the pass rush. Simon isn’t a star, but star pass rushers don’t hit free agency. What the Colts are doing is taking a guy who’s still young and has shown some nice situational pass rush ability and hoping that he will continue to develop. Simon also plays well against the run too and has been productive there over the past three years, and he’s recorded more than 50 tackles in each of the last two seasons. He’s been a good run defender while he worked on developing as a pass rusher, and now he’s a guy who can play well against the run and still provide some disruption as a pass rusher. I think this won’t get a ton of attention, but it’s a good move for the Colts.