ColtPower has learned that kicker Jose Cortez has agreed to a new contract
and will be returning to the Indianapolis Colts for the 2006 season.
Cortez's signing was confirmed by his agent, Bruce Tollner. And although he didn't want to discuss any contract details, he shared some
insight on why Cortez opted to return to Indianapolis.
"Jose is fired up to be back with the Colts," he told ColtPower earlier this evening.
"They're a first-class organization with Bill Polian and head coach Tony
Dungy. And they have a great special teams coach in Russ Purnell."
With veteran kicker Mike Vanderjagt moving on, the Colts enter their
offseason workouts with an open competition between Cortez, second-year kicker
Dave Rayner, and rookie Shane Andrus.
Tollner believes that Cortez' experience will be an important edge for his
client.
"I think it's a great edge to have," he said. "Kicking is one
of those positions where it helps to have been there before.
"Teams look to see how a player responds in those pressure
situations. It certainly helps Jose that he's been around for seven years
and has made some big kicks in his career."
ColtPower will follow up on this breaking news later this evening with
comments from Jose Cortez, including exclusive audio from our interview with
him.