by Kent Sterling
With what might be the longest fingers and thumbs I’ve ever seen on a normal size guy, Hakeem Nicks should be a sticky target for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
The Indianapolis Colts certainly seem to get what they want when free agents visit. Not sure whether they close the deals like Don Rickles in “Casino” by holding their planes at the airport until they sign, but Hakeem Nix decided to be a Colt before continuing his tour of suitors to Carolina and beyond, according to ESPN.
Nicks is 26, 6’0″, 210 lbs., and has suffered a series of injuries (high ankle sprain, hamstring and knee issues, and a broken foot) that have limited his productivity over the past couple of years, but he has always been a 50+ catch guy, and last year averaged 16 yards per catch despite not getting in the end zone.
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If healthy, Nicks will fit in nicely with T.Y. Hilton, Da’rick Rogers, Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazill, and a hopefully recuperated future hall of famer Reggie Wayne.
When a team has an elite quarterback, the least the front office can do is surround him with a competent level of tools, and with the running backs all having big red question marks next to their names, Andrew Luck needs fast men with sticky hands outside the numbers.
Add tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener to the mix, and all Luck should need are a couple of guys to help keep the rush at bay for three seconds to be able to matriculate the Colts down the field early and often in 2014.
Nicks comes to the Colts after playing five seasons with the New York Giants when he averaged 62 catches and 924 yards.
General manager Ryan Grigson’s shopping list is getting shorter and shorter, but the Colts are still without a starting center and safety to replace Antoine Bethea who left earlier this week for San Francisco. This is a weak draft for safeties, so Grigson is likely not done courting free agents yet.
ESPN’s Mike Wells will join “Ahead of the Curve” with Fox 59’s Chris Hagan and me tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:45a on 1070 the Fan to talk about this deal and what Grigson might have up his sleeve over the weekend.