INDIANAPOLIS --- Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson completed his first contract extension with a player when wide receiver T.Y. Hilton signed on the dotted line Thursday in Anderson, and Tuesday he discussed that and was also asked about getting a deal done with left tackle Anthony Castonzo as well.
"I am not going to comment on active contract negotiations," Grigson said before practice Tuesday morning, emphasizing the word active. "I will leave it at that."
The way Grigson said the word active though, stressing it, is a good sign that talks are still on-going with Castonzo. As for Hilton's new contract, it's a moment that was a long-time coming.
"We have been preparing for these days for a long time, and I think we have been pretty vigilant and have been on point about what we have to spend and what will hamstring us in the future," said Grigson. "We are cash to cap, and we pay close attention to our budgets. We don't want to end up in a spot where we have to be in dire straights again. It's just not worth it. In the long run, if you want to stay in success you can't have those tremendous holes in terms of your cash or your cap."
Grigson said Hilton's extension was a win-win, meaning both sides were happy with the result but had to compromise during negotiations in some areas to complete the deal.
"I don't think it would have gotten done if not," said Grigson. "There are a lot of different ways to skin a cat. There's the dollars aspect. There's the way they ascertain value, and there's a way I ascertain value from not only a financial standpoint, but from a football standpoint, from a common sense standpoint. There are a lot of things that come into play during a negotiation. It worked out because when you have someone on the other end that you enjoy working with, and we do enjoy working with the Rosenhaus brothers, it worked out."
It worked out for the Colts, for Hilton, and now, for the fans as well. #13 will be on the side of Lucas Oil Stadium for a long time.
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Ryan Grigson also discussed the added importance he places on preseason games compared to practice when evaluating who will make the 53-man roster:
"There are so many practice players that never, for whatever reason, and they frustrate you. They are the great frustration in this for coaches and for personal executives or scouts in general. Those guys that just do it out there on the practice field every day, but then they show up for game day. Was he even out there? Then you have those guys that can drive the coaches nuts because they are not doing the right thing during the week, then all of a sudden they show up in the game and are making plays everywhere. We know at the end of the day we are judged by wins, and you get to win more games in this league if you have more playmakers because it is about match-ups."
