Colts Lose Kwity Paye, Eye Trey Hendrickson

0:00On March 9th, the Indianapolis Colts are losing a key defensive player as edge-rusher Qwadi Pay signs a 3-year deal worth 48 million. Dollars with the Las Vegas Raiders, that's an average of $16 million per year, with 32 million guaranteed. Pay spent his entire 5-year career in Indianapolis after they drafted him 21st overall in 2021. Pay started 74 games for the Colts and racked up 30.5 sacks over that time. His best years came in 2023 and 2024, with 8.5 and 8 sacks respectively, though his 2025. Season dropped to just 4. Fans and analysts see this as a big shift for the Colts' defense, which now has a hole to fill on the edge. Pay Day was solid against the run, ranking high among edge defenders since 2022, but his pass rush struggled lately. Looking ahead, the Colts are linked to veteran Trey Hendrickson, who's hitting free agency after his time with his Cincinnati Bengals. Projections put his value at around 21 million for one year, or about 50.9 million over

1:04two, and Indianapolis has roughly 23.7 million in cap space to play with. That could mean some contract tweaks, but the fit makes sense with coaching ties from Cincinnati. Having Hendrickson, with Leia Toulatou, might give the Colts a real boost up front as they reshape for 2026.