T.Y. Hilton Turned Down More Money From a Top AFC Contender to Remain With the Indianapolis Colts
After being linked to numerous teams in NFL free agency, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton has re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts on a one-year deal worth up to $10 million. The four-time Pro Bowler seems extremely excited to catch passes from Carson Wentz, who he’s actually comparing to Andrew Luck, and has also revealed that he turned down a better offer from the Baltimore Ravens to remain with the Colts, the only franchise he’s played for since joining the NFL.
T.Y. Hilton has played nine seasons for the Indianapolis Colts
Taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft (92nd overall pick) out of FIU, T.Y. Hilton has played his entire nine-year career with the franchise and has been one of the team’s key weapons for the vast majority of that time.
While his numbers have dipped a little bit over the past couple of seasons (to be fair, he did miss six games in 2019), Hilton still sits in third place on the Colts’ all-time receiving yards list (9,360), ranks fourth in receptions (608), and is tied for the fourth-most touchdown catches (50). He’s surpassed the 1,000-yard mark on five occasions, including a league-leading 1,448 yards in 2016, and has been selected to four Pro Bowls.
T.Y. Hilton says he turned down a better offer from the Baltimore Ravens to remain with the Indianapolis Colts
Following the Indianapolis Colts’ 2020 season, a season in which he caught 56 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns, T.Y. Hilton became an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career and while he says he enjoyed being pursued by other teams, he believes playing for just one franchise his entire career would be something special, which is why he chose to sign a one-year deal to remain in Indy.
Hilton is guaranteed $8 million for the 2021 season and could make as much as $10 million with incentives. However, he apparently could have had a longer and more lucrative deal with the Baltimore Ravens but turned it down to stay with the Colts (h/t ESPN).
“I wanted to stay here no matter what the cost was. I gave up a lot of money to stay here and that’s what I wanted to do.”
T.Y. Hilton
He says he relied heavily on the advice of former Colts wideout Reggie Wayne when making his decision. Wayne, like T.Y. Hilton is hoping to do, played his entire NFL career in Indianapolis.
The four-time Pro Bowler says Carson Wentz is a ‘special talent’
While T.Y. Hilton could have paired up with former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson in Baltimore in 2021, he’ll instead be catching passes from newly-acquired Carson Wentz, whom the Indianapolis Colts officially traded for a couple of weeks back, and seems to be very excited about it as he says he sees some of Andrew Luck in Indy’s new signal-caller (h/t NFL.com).
“He has some Andrew Luck traits, man. He can get out of the pocket. He can make the incredible throws. He’s a special talent, man, especially when he’s standing up in the pocket delivering throws and his ability to avoid guys and make plays with his legs or with his arm. So he’s a special talent.”
T.Y. Hilton
Now we’ll just have to wait and see if Carson Wentz and T.Y. Hilton will work well together. But given that Hilton has produced with all the different quarterbacks from whom he’s caught passes over the years, he should be just fine.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
