Insider: Colts likely to move on from Donte Moncrief despite potential

INDIANAPOLIS – He arrived in the Midwest a baby-faced 20-year old, not yet old enough to buy a Bud Light but talented enough to inspire bold dreams.

This small-town Mississippi kid was immediately embraced by Hoosiers. And why not? What was there not to like about Donte Moncrief? At the time, the Indianapolis Colts’ 2014 third-round pick sure looked like he could become one of quarterback Andrew Luck’s best on-field friends.

And that’s enough to buy you instant credibility in these parts.

“You can’t teach 6-2, 220 (pounds) and runs 4.3 (in the 40-yard dash),” former General Manager Ryan Grigson said on draft night. “We’re excited.”

They had a right to be.

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Fast forward four years and Moncrief, now on the cusp of free agency, is inspiring far less audacity. Gone are the declarative statements about his ability and upside. Instead, they have been replaced by feelings of consternation.

Moncrief isn’t likely to be re-signed by the Colts before impending free agents like him can begin negotiating with competing teams on Monday. In fact, all current indications point to Moncrief and the Colts parting ways for good after the free-agent market opens on Wednesday. General Manager Chris Ballard, having watched Moncrief underperform in 2017 during a contract year, seems very cool toward the idea of bringing him back.

Still, the Moncrief situation is a complicated one for the Colts.

On the one hand, it’s not hard to get enraptured by his physical attributes, as the former front-office staff did prior to drafting him. Put simply, there just aren’t many wide receivers who look like Moncrief. When you couple that with the sporadic big plays he’s made, you can’t help but wonder if there’s more where that came from. Finally, there’s Moncrief’s age. He’s still just 24, an age when some five-year college players are just entering the NFL.

On the other hand, there’s Moncrief’s mystifying inability to consistently play to his size. He has a demonstrated track record in the red zone – he has 18 touchdowns in his four seasons and is sixth in touchdown percentage among receivers with 15-plus receptions according to pro-football-reference.com – but where is that physicality when it’s third-and-4 from the 47-yard line? Typically, it’s nowhere to be found. Moncrief’s tendency to disappear for long stretches also can’t be ignored. Combine that with occasional questions about his effort and you can see why Moncrief has gained a reputation in the Colts’ front office for being unmotivated.

That doesn’t sound like the kind of player they’re likely to reward with a new contract.

Moncrief, in an interview earlier this winter, said he’d like to return to Indianapolis. But he openly acknowledged the possibility it might not happen.

“This is home,” Moncrief said. “This is the only place I know. I’ve been here for four years and these have been the best days of my life. We just have to get it back on track. If not, I’ll just go somewhere else and do what I have to do.”

Hopefully what he does there is better than what Moncrief produced in 2017. He made a massive jump from Year 1 to 2, with a career-best 64 catches in 2015. After being ravaged by a shoulder injury in 2016, a healthy Moncrief said he was ready to tackle 2017 and make it a bounce-back season. He instead registered a career-low 26 receptions despite being on the field for no fewer than 70 percent of snaps in the 12 games he played. The Colts tried to inspire Moncrief by briefly replacing him in the starting lineup with Kamar Aiken, but not even that produced results.

Wherever he goes, Moncrief will have to stay healthy. He’s missed 11 games in the past two seasons with shoulder and ankle injuries. In a way, this stacks the deck against Moncrief even more because it’s yet another knock. But he sees this as a reason to think he could break out in 2018.

Asked if we’ve seen him at his best, Moncrief said, “My first two years, I didn’t have injuries and I was at my best and I was out there ballin’. But it’s football. You’re going to have injuries. I’ve had two major injuries. Not even major really, just injuries that nicked at me. So, no, you didn’t see everything that you could see. At the end of the day, I know what I am and I know what I’m capable of. I know I can be a top-dollar receiver. So, I’m not going to do nothing less and I’m not going to take nothing less.

“I know what I am and I’m ready to ball.”

What Moncrief gets paid won’t be up to him, obviously. But his untapped upside is likely to be attractive to at least some teams. Don’t be surprised if he has multiple suitors. “Top-dollar” is probably too ambitious a goal, but a one-year, prove-it deal with a substantial base salary isn’t out of the question. A longer deal is certainly plausible, but it would probably be light on guaranteed money.

While the motivation seemed lacking in 2017, maybe Moncrief will find it in 2018. He said he planned some intense training this offseason, including a possible stint with recent Hall-of-Fame selection Randy Moss.

“The sky is the limit,” Moncrief said of his future. “I’m ready to get some training in. I’m ready to get my ears open and listen to these guys and take it all in. I think it will fire me up to do something more.”

That would be a welcome change. Because everyone, the Colts included, have been waiting for Moncrief to do more. Maybe he can, maybe he won’t. Either way, Moncrief’s self-appraisal hasn’t changed.

Free agency, he said, “is exciting because I know what I am and what I can do. I just hope it’s here.”

Moncrief would be wise to not count on that last part coming to fruition.

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

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