The Colts began shopping for ways to address their need. Early last week the team began searching for a way to plug that leaky hole in the defense. And knowing that Vontae Davis had lost his starting job in Miami, the Colts called asking to acquire him.
The Colts' first offer was a sixth-round pick.
Miami general manager Jeff Ireland, who had not been shopping Davis, told the Colts he was not interested.
By Thursday, the offer was improved to a fifth-round pick. Ireland still had no interest in that price for a player he views as troubled but still worthy of keeping given his age, ability, relatively cheap cost and the first-round investment he had in Davis.
So the Colts let that sit for a while.
And Saturday the Colts came back again -- this time offering a third-round pick for Davis. I have to give Indianapolis GM Ryan Grigson credit for persistence. He latched on to the idea of getting Davis like a pitbull locks down on a steak and didn't let go. And, of course, while he was showing little interest in the offers, Miami GM Jeff Ireland was not saying, "Stop calling me!"
Ireland was open to the idea of trading Davis, but at a price he wanted. That goes back to the Bill Parcells school of thought that "Everybody is on the trade block all the time." (For the right price).
The third-round offer got Ireland's attention in that serious, serious negotiations began to take place between the teams. The Colts were finally in the ballpark but Ireland wanted more. And the fact they were in the ballpark encouraged the Colts they might be able to solve their gaping defensive problem. It also encouraged Ireland that he could get a premium draft pick in this deal.
It was sometime late Saturday or early Sunday when Grigson came back with the second-round offer. The offer put Ireland on the hook but to reel him in, Grigson had to add the conditional sixth-rounder that he ultimately included in the deal.
