Colts sign Barkevious Mingo

We haven’t really seen the Colts make many moves yet this offseason under Chris Ballard, but they’ve made their second reported signing of the day. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Colts have signed linebacker Barkevious Mingo to a one-year, $2.5 million deal.

Mingo was the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Browns, and he spent the first three years of his career in Cleveland before he was traded to the New England Patriots, where he played in 2016. He has played in 62 games in his four seasons, starting 16, and has recorded 119 tackles, seven sacks, eleven passes defensed, and an interception. Last year with the Patriots, he played in all 16 games and recorded eleven tackles, playing primarily on special teams and contributing there.

Ultimately, this deal is all about adding competition to the roster. It’s a pretty cheap free agent deal and the Colts aren’t paying Mingo a ton, and they’ll bring in the former first round draft pick hoping that he can add competition at outside linebacker and add a special teams contributor. The Colts will surely continue to bring in a number of other linebackers, but Mingo is that one-year, small-contract free agent deal to add competition and battle for a spot while hoping he steps up and proves to be even more than that. They’re taking an eye on Mingo, and that’s not neccessarily a bad thing.