The 2025 Colts Offensive Line

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

My thinking is that Braden Smith is not a liability, and for the most part is playing pretty well. He's had a few hiccups vs TJ Watt though. No shame in that.

As for the salary cap implications. We are in a difficult situation for 2026. We gotta re-sign Jones, Pierce and Cross. That will not be cheap. But, someone will have to go to do that. The top two expensive candidates would be Smith and Zaire Franklin. Smith would have to sign a team friendly contract to stay.

We will certainly not re-sign Kwity Paye though. Believe it or not I would like to see MOC come back.

I would rank Braden Smith ahead of Alec Pierce in terms of who the Colts need to resign the most. The reason for that is there are more starting caliber WRs available in free agency than starting caliber RTs, plus the Colts have 2 starting WRs without Pierce. Ideally, I want both resigned, but if I have to pick one, it's Smith. Jones and Cross are 1 and 2 in priority for me.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I would rank Braden Smith ahead of Alec Pierce in terms of who the Colts need to resign the most. The reason for that is there are more starting caliber WRs available in free agency than starting caliber RTs, plus the Colts have 2 starting WRs without Pierce. Ideally, I want both resigned, but if I have to pick one, it's Smith. Jones and Cross are 1 and 2 in priority for me.

Gotta disagree with you here. Ballard has shown he knows how to draft offensive lineman and lineman that can start immediately. We have proven we know how to develop those lineman with our coaching staff. Pierce is a unicorn. He can take the top off a defense better than anyone in the league. He is young and improves every year. Agree about Cross and am almost there on Jones (I want to see how he handles the rest of the season first).

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Gotta disagree with you here. Ballard has shown he knows how to draft offensive lineman and lineman that can start immediately. We have proven we know how to develop those lineman with our coaching staff. Pierce is a unicorn. He can take the top off a defense better than anyone in the league. He is young and improves every year. Agree about Cross and am almost there on Jones (I want to see how he handles the rest of the season first).

The Colts have already locked in to Jones by trading their next 2 firsts for Sauce. I would say Cross is the next most important piece. Smith is ahead of Pierce for me because the team is locked in to Jones. Jones does not hold up well under pressure, so having the best OL possible is a necessity. I'm not denying Pierce is valuable, but Pittman, Downs, and Taylor are currently free agents in 2027, and that's if you roll with Pittman’s $29 million cap hit for 2026. I want to keep Pierce, but not at $20+ million AAV, which could be his price tag.