Kyle DeVan SHOULD be smiling ... he landed with another contender!

Snicker if you will.   Tell me that I look at the world through Blue and White glasses.     Picture me typing these words blindly, with my head planted firmly in the sand.   Because, regardless of the Colts’ shuffling offensive line or sore necks or bend-and-bend-some-more defense, I still have visions of a home-field Super Bowl in February, and that dream won’t dissipate until some other team stomps the Colts into the turf, leaving them officially and terminally eliminated.  Until then, all Colts news is filtered through the lens of championship hopes, and I’ve noticed lately that my screen is collecting several chunks of trivia centered about a common theme:  cut Colts sticking with other contenders who could club their former team along the path to destiny.

First, after the Colts cut safety Bob Sanders last winter, the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed with the San Diego Chargers.   The Chargers?!?!?   If Sanders had signed with the Patriots, the potential for a classic Greek tragedy could not have been any greater.

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Kelvin Hayden won't seal the deal for the Colts this season

Jason LaCanfora reports this afternoon that former Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons.    The Colts released Hayden shortly after the NFL lockout ended this summer, and it was widely reported as a salary cap move.  After watching him flail through free agency, though, I’m not so sure about that take.

While Hayden hasn’t been productive enough to merit the nearly $9 million that he was scheduled to make this season, the Colts saved only about $1 million in cap space by releasing him.   So this may have been a straight salary deal for the club, but Hayden visited multiple teams and had extensive workouts over the last month or so without any takers.   Towards the end of last season, he landed on the Injured Reserve list with a neck injury, and it’s possible that the Bears, Redskins, Raiders and Vikings all passed on Hayden thanks to that  owie.   We’re all too familiar around here with the lingering effects of neck problems, right?

The fact that the Colts didn’t bring Hayden back after he fell through the FA cracks is probably also not a good sign for him, but I suppose the Falcons must have invested some effort in verifying his health before signing him.  He was a playoff and Super Bowl hero for the `Shoes, and I wish him well in Atlanta, as long as it’s not at Indy’s expense.

There is some non-zero chance, after all, that the Colts could face former teammates in successive games next winter.   The road home to the championship could conceivably feature Bob Sanders and the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game, followed by Kelvin Hayden and the Falcons in the Super Bowl.    It’s far-fetched, sure, but there is a certain poetry to that scenario that makes it irresistible to ponder.

Kelvin Hayden has apparently crossed the finish line on his Colts' career.

The NFL Network reported this evening that the Colts will release cornerback Kelvin Hayden, which is expected to free up about $9 million in salary cap space.   That hefty figure would place Kayden in the upper echelon of CBs, but he hasn’t really proven himself to belong there.  Jerraud Powers is at the top of Indy’s CB depth chart, but the Colts will have to scramble to figure out who his running mate will be.

I was surprised earlier in the week when the gossip mill had Hayden safely returning to the Colts this season, and now this seems to be an abrupt turn.   The Hayden news comes on the same day that Peyton Manning signed his new deal and freed up some cap room.   With Joseph Addai reportedly back in the fold, it makes me wonder if a big move or two is being considered.   Antonio Cromartie, anyone?