Indianapolis Colts cut DT Ricky Jean-Francois

By Evan Massey | Feb 23, 2015

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Indianapolis Colts defensive end Ricky Jean Francois (99) in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

The Indianapolis Colts have decided to release defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois just two seasons into his four-year contract.

Ricky Jean Francois was signed by the Indianapolis Colts in hopes that he could help them shut down the running game for opposing teams. That hasn’t happened, and the Colts have decided to make a move. According to reports, the Colts have released Jean-Francois.

Colts announced release of Ricky Jean-Francois.
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 23, 2015

This was a bit of a surprise move by the Colts, as Jean-Francois has completed just two of the four seasons on his contract. Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t been able to make the type of impact that the Colts needed him to on the line. He won’t be without work too long, but the Colts believe that they need to clear some money to make a run at other improvements.

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During the 2014 season, Jean-Francois ended up recording 28 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and six swatted passes. He wasn’t a terrible defensive lineman, but he also wasn’t a huge presence on the defensive line as far as stopping the run is concerned.

It is going to be very interesting to see what ends up happening with the Colts this offseason. There is a good chance that they will be active on the free agency market, and they have already been talked about as potential suitors for a few different big names. After this move, the Colts will also need to focus on bringing in some more help on the defensive line.

At 28 years old, Jean-Francois still has some football left in him. There are plenty of teams around the NFL in need of help on the defensive line, and it won’t be too long before he is on another roster.

Ryan Grigson and the Colts know that they are a few moves away from being legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They need to improve their running back position, and make some moves on the defensive side of the football. If they can do those two things, then they are going to be a very difficult team to beat with Andrew Luck leading the way.

All of that being said, only time will tell what the Colts can do in free agency. Expect to see the Colts make a couple big moves, but it will be interesting to see what they do on the defensive line. There are some that believe they could make a run at Ndamukong Suh, but that doesn’t appear all that likely.

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