Last week ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that wide receiver Pierre Garcon turned down a five-year contract offer by the Indianapolis Colts. According to Tony Pauline of Sports Illustrated and TFY Draft Insider, the number that the Colts offered appears to be around the $35 million mark.
Why Garcon would decline the amount of money and years is only known to him. But we can suspect several possibilities such as Garcon believing that he's worth more, that the deal wasn't so much about the $35 million rather the guarantees offered, that the wide receiver doesn't want to be part of a rebuilding project or that he's waiting to see where quarterback Peyton Manning will land next month.
That being said the Bengals are believed to be in the market for a veteran wide receiver. Though we don't think they'd be willing to pay that much in free agency, simply because they're history dictates such a conclusion, so it would be reasonable to conclude that Garcon wouldn't be on Cincinnati's radar if money were a factor in Garcon's rejection. And yes, we're well aware about the money they have under the cap.