Report: Jabaal Sheard to visit the Colts

It’s sometimes hard to know what’s true and what’s not when it comes to reports that a team is “interested” in a certain player, but one player it seems like the Colts truly are interested in is Patriots defensive end/outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Sheard is scheduled to visit with the Colts. He visited the Dolphins yesterday, but apparently left without signing a contract.

Over the years we have seen the Colts be able to really sell guys on signing with them when they visit as free agents, so it will be interesting to see whether they’re able to sign Sheard. Chuck Pagano has proven to be good with incoming free agents and selling them on the team, and the Colts have typically signed a good number of the free agents who have visited.

It sounds like that interest in Sheard is indeed legitimate, however, and that’s understandable. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Browns and the last two seasons with the Patriots, playing in 89 career games and starting 59 of them, racking up 260 tackles, 36 sacks, eleven forced fumbles, and 18 passes defensed. Over the last two years with the Patriots, he has recorded 13 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Sheard would be a good addition for the Colts as an edge defender, as he’s a guy who can defend the run and also rush the passer. The Colts have already been making some moves at outside linebacker in free agency, and it’s possible they could make another one soon if the visit with Sheard goes well.