The Colts used their franchise tag on punter Pat McAfee and they were able to keep another impending free agent from hitting the open market on Monday as well.
Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star reports that the team has re-signed defensive end Fili Moala to a one-year deal. Moala was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week, but the team made a strong enough offer to keep him from heading elsewhere.
The question now is whether he’ll be ready to help the team right away next season. Moala battled knee injuries for much of last season and went on injured reserve in late November after tearing his ACL and that has kept many non-Adrian Peterson types from being ready to answer the bell at the start of the following year.
Moala, a second-round pick out of USC in 2009, started all eight games he played for the Colts and started 30 games across the two previous seasons. If Moala is healthy, there’s still a chance he’ll face a challenge for his starting spot as the Colts try to improve their defense from 2012’s 26th-ranked unit.