Colts sign DT Simon

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http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/IND/8793333

Colts reach deal with Pro Bowl DT Simon

NFL.com wire reports

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1, 2005) -- The Indianapolis Colts, hoping to fix their one glaring weakness, reached a multiyear agreement with Corey Simon, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle released by Philadelphia in a contract dispute.

Simon wanted a long-term deal with Philadelphia and refused to sign a one-year franchise tender. The Eagles removed the franchise tag on the former first-round draft pick Aug. 28, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The Colts were quick to pounce.

"You can chase a lot of these guys, but if they don't have a motivation, you're usually spinning your wheels," Colts coach Tony Dungy said after practice. "When we talked to him early on, it was evident we were one of the places he was truly interested in. We felt we had something good to offer, and he felt the same way."

The negotiations didn't take long.

Roosevelt Barnes, Simon's agent, said he finished the deal with Colts president Bill Polian on the morning of Sept. 1 and that Simon, who has 32 sacks in his five-year NFL career, would probably be in Indianapolis on Sept. 2 for a physical. Dungy said Simon might join the team in Cincinnati for the final preseason game Friday night, but he would not play.

"It's going to be different for him," Dungy said. "We play a completely different style than Philadelphia. He's going to have to get used to that, get used to our terminology. It's not going to be the type of thing where he's going to come in and all of a sudden everything's going to click for us. We've got to get him going.

"He played in a system similar to this at Florida State, so it'll be a little bit of muscle memory. But he'll help us very quickly, I think."

Simon was the Eagles' first-round pick and the sixth overall selection in the 2000 draft. In five seasons with Philadelphia, he had 270 tackles and 32 sacks. He had 24 tackles and 5½ sacks last season, when he was named to the Pro Bowl, but he did not sign a one-year, $5.13 million franchise tender the Eagles offered him because he wanted a long-term contract.

He skipped all of Philadelphia's minicamps and its training camp.

"You don't think a guy like that is going to become available, certainly without compensation," Dungy said. "It's really kind of staggering."

Simon is listed at 293 pounds but is probably well over 300 pounds, Dungy said.

"He's a different type of player than we've had. He's really a power player and a really physical presence inside. He's a much bigger body than we've had," he said. "There's going to be a danger if we say this is a cure-all to everything that ails us, but certainly you've got a major weapon in there in a guy who has played in some great defenses."

The defense, even with last year's NFL sacks leader Dwight Freeney, is seen as the weak spot in the Colts' drive to the Super Bowl.

Their explosive offense is set -- including Peyton Manning, whose 49 touchdown passes set an NFL record last season -- but the inconsistent defense kept them from getting home-field advantage in the playoffs, and they lost postseason games at New England the past two seasons.

In the college draft this year, the Colts took Michigan cornerback Marlin Jackson with the 29th overall pick, then solidified their secondary with Illinois cornerback Kelvin Hayden in the second round.

Dungy said he hoped Simon would be ready to play in the season-opener Sept. 11 at Baltimore.

"He says he will, so we'll take it at that," Dungy said. "He's been working out on his own, not knowing where he was going to be, obviously. We'll get him here and get him acclimated, get him in tune to what we do and see where he is. ... He's not going to be a 60-play-a-game guy early on, but we'll get him going."