Colts reach deals with OT Cherilus, CB Toler
The Indianapolis Colts made moves Tuesday to shore up the right side of their offensive line and secondary, agreeing to reported deals with tackle Gosder Cherilus and cornerback Greg Toler.
A first-round pick in the 2008 draft, Cherilus spent his first five seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. Terms of his contract with the Colts were unavailable, according to NFL.com.
Toler is believed to have agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Arizona Cardinals unsuccessfully tried to re-sign Toler, who had five interceptions in four seasons.
Colts owner Jim Irsay was so excited about the moves that he tweeted, "We are THRILLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Cherilus is ticketed for the Colts' right-tackle job, replacing last season's platoon of Winston Justice and Jeff Linkenbach. Indianapolis wants to improve its pass protection for quarterback Andrew Luck for his second season in 2013.
"(Coach) Chuck (Pagano) and I have a vision and we want players who love the game, play snap-to-whistle and do all of the little things to achieve greatness," said general manager Ryan Grigson. "Those traits are prevalent in all of the players we signed today. They love the game and play at a high level. They are team players and their focus is to dominate the person across from them every snap. That showed in the film and we agreed as a staff that these guys fit the mold of what we are trying to accomplish here. At the end of the day, we wanted players who would mesh well with our current roster and with one another. We feel these guys undoubtedly fit that style."
The downside for Indianapolis with Cherilus is his continual battle with knee problems. There were reports that he recently went to Germany to seek an alternative treatment on his right knee. Nevertheless, he he has missed only four games in his career and played every game last season.
Toler is expected to be paired at cornerback with returning Colts starter Vontae Davis.
Indianapolis also reached agreements with former Green Bay linebacker Erik Walden on a four-year, $16 million contract, former New England guard Donald Brown and Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Lawrence Sidbury.
