I don’t want to frame this as AtoZSports’ Destin Adams versus ESPN’s Stephen Holder in a good ole’ fashioned ‘source-off,’ but Colts nation is clearly stuck in limbo as we await to see whether this deal happens or doesn’t happen imminently.

Both Colts beat writers may be reporting and trusting what their sources are telling them—but they just have different sources and perhaps at different levels of the organization (hence, the apparent conflict). These situations also remain entirely fluid.

For the record, there are a few other Twitter (or X) league sources backing Adams’ report including the infamous ‘PrettyRickey213’ (who’s already hit on a number of signings before they came in league-wide). However, KOAColorado’s Benjamin Allbright’s latest report supports Holder’s report, as well as longtime Colts beat writer, Fox59/CBS4’s Mike Chappell.

From my perspective (and claiming no-sourcing), there’s been entirely too much smoke as of late regarding Sneed eventually going to the Colts—and given Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard’s past history in Kansas City—and I think this deal ultimately gets done.

It just may not be done quite yet, but really close to the finish line.

There could be last details to hammer out on Sneed’s new lucrative Colts contract, or perhaps Indianapolis is reviewing his medicals or wanting him to conduct a physical. Perhaps all is left is to submit the tradework to the league office come Monday morning.

For what it’s worth, there should be a resolution soon because free agency moves really fast.

The Colts can afford to wait a little bit longer, but they can’t wait too long on Sneed—or they’ll risk being too slow to pivot to other available veteran options at starting cornerback or safety which they still desperately need to shore up their secondary for next season.

At any rate, Colts fans are left to patiently wait this weekend, and as the late great Tom Petty once so eloquently sang, “The waiting is the hardest part!”

When he is faced with tighter coverage at the snap, Brown shows the quick feet and sudden movements he needs to get cornerbacks out of balance. That can give him a step on a defender — and prevents them from playing too aggressively, since an overstep can lead to a blown coverage and a huge gain.

That is the fear that a deep threat should instill in coverage defenders; it’s an asset that the receiver (and the offense) can utilize. While Valdes-Scantling had safety-pushing speed, he was unable to build a wider route tree from there.

Brown, however, can use his deep speed to create open windows on shorter, breaking routes. On comeback routes to the sideline, he does an excellent job of selling a deep pattern with multiple gear shifts to keep cornerbacks on their heels. This gives him more ways to win on the outside; he can do more than simply get behind the last line of pass coverage.

Route running at all three levels

Like Valdes-Scantling, Brown is dangerous on deep routes — but there is so much more to his skillset. His speed is complemented by quickness and acceleration which makes him hard to cover on short and intermediate routes, too.