Dwight Freeney, Austin Collie let go by Colts

In 11 seasons with the Colts, Freeney racked up 107.5 sacks, placing him as No. 21 on the all-time sacks leaderboard and fifth among active players. He was elected to the Pro Bowl seven times as a member of the Colts and was named to the Associated Press All-Pro team three times.

Brad Wells of SB Nation’s Colts blog, Stampede Blue, called said the news marked the “end of an era.”

Freeney was paid a little more than $14 million for his base salary in 2012 and was responsible for a total cap hit of just over $19 million. The Colts aren’t willing to pay that much money again, but somebody may. Even if Freeney has to take a pay cut, and he likely will, he will be playing somewhere in 2013.

It’s currently unclear as to where Freeney could end up in 2013, however, a pass rusher of his caliber isn’t a very common thing and any team with a 3-4 defense would be boosted by signing the talented outside linebacker. Unfortunately, the majority won’t be able to spend the kind of money that it will likely cost to buy Freeney’s services. There’s no question, though, that he’s going to be one of the biggest-name free agents on the market heading into the 2013 season.

Freeney, 32, was the No. 11 selection in the 2002 NFL Draft and racked up 107.5 sacks in his 11 seasons with the team. In his final season with the team, Freeney only tallied five sacks, the second fewest in his career, behind only an injury-shortened season in 2007. In his 11 seasons with the Colts, Freeney was elected to the Pro Bowl seven times and made three AP All-Pro teams.

Collie, 27, played in just four seasons with the Colts, but only saw time in one game during the 2012 season. Despite tallying 1,845 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns, Collie’s tenure with the Colts will be most remembered for a pair of concussions in the 2010 season. After a second concussion, Collie was placed on the injured reserve and, although he had a healthy season in 2011, he suffered the third concussion of his career in preseason of 2012.