Before we discard Kelly and Smith, consider…

[Kray007]

The state of the roster.

Resigning Fries is a priority, but it’s no slam dunk. If he walks and we cut ties with Smith and Kelly, we are staring into an abyss if injury strikes. Depth would consist of Glowinski, Freeland, Pinter, Tucker, French, and Coll. Pinter, French, Coll, and Glowinski are all free agents, but…

Even if they weren’t, there isn’t a single player among the backups that I’d trust to play OL in a Saturday afternoon flag football league.

Two years ago, Ballard was virtually crucified because he left the cupboard bare of quality backups on the line. He can’t make the same mistake again. It’s that simple.

Do we really want to go into free agency needing to spend half of our cap space on the line? Do we want to spend 2nd and 3rd round draft picks filling holes we ourselves dug?

When morning breaks on free agency, do we want to face a choice between signing a cover Corner or a Right Tackle, a Linebacker who can cover or a guy who can snap the ball?

On Monday morning, after the draft, do we really want to listen while bozos like Kevin Bowen take to the airwaves complaining about how Ballard passed on an “impact” player in order to take a Guard?

Don’t get me wrong. I recognize that Kelly and Smith are nearing the end. I just think that it makes sense to wring out whatever is left of their ability for another year while we address other needs.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Kray007

The state of the roster.

Resigning Fries is a priority, but it’s no slam dunk. If he walks and we cut ties with Smith and Kelly, we are staring into an abyss if injury strikes. Depth would consist of Glowinski, Freeland, Pinter, Tucker, French, and Coll. Pinter, French, Coll, and Glowinski are all free agents, but…

Even if they weren’t, there isn’t a single player among the backups that I’d trust to play OL in a Saturday afternoon flag football league.

Two years ago, Ballard was virtually crucified because he left the cupboard bare of quality backups on the line. He can’t make the same mistake again. It’s that simple.

Do we really want to go into free agency needing to spend half of our cap space on the line? Do we want to spend 2nd and 3rd round draft picks filling holes we ourselves dug?

When morning breaks on free agency, do we want to face a choice between signing a cover Corner or a Right Tackle, a Linebacker who can cover or a guy who can snap the ball?

On Monday morning, after the draft, do we really want to listen while bozos like Kevin Bowen take to the airwaves complaining about how Ballard passed on an “impact” player in order to take a Guard?

Don’t get me wrong. I recognize that Kelly and Smith are nearing the end. I just think that it makes sense to wring out whatever is left of their ability for another year while we address other needs.

There's a reasonable deal to be had between the Colts and Fries, and if he absolutely won't resign for some reason, the Colts have tags available. I don't think it will get to that point, though, I would think they will work out a deal. As for Smith, is he even reliable at this point? He missed a good portion of the end of the regular season due to an undisclosed personal matter. Since we don't know what that personal matter is, it could be something that could cause him to retire. Stranger things have happened. As for Kelly, he’s on the decline and Bortolini showed enough as a rookie to think he'll be a solid replacement going forward. I think retaining Fries (who was a 7th round pick, by the way), retaining Glowinski, and drafting a couple OL for depth on Day 3 is the smart play. Having a starting OL of Raimann, Nelson, Bortolini, Fries, Goncalves with Glowinski, Freeland, and French as depth is better than most of the league. If Smith is also part of that mix, even better, but I would cut him if he doesn't agree to a pretty large pay cut.

[HoosierinFL]

I'd keep Kelly but Smith is very expensive and just not very good, I think he can be replaced easily.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by HoosierinFL

I'd keep Kelly but Smith is very expensive and just not very good, I think he can be replaced easily.

I agree with this assessment.

[ChoppedWood]

This is basically the Ballard approach. Convince yourself that those already in your keep are inherently better than anything you could get from another roster, simply based on the fact you are familiar with them.

This is the team run-it-back approach, it is a huge driver in why we can't fucking get over the hump- the players are just "good enough" to keep from being a bottom feeder but they aren't nearly to the level it takes to win on an elite NFL level. Fuck that, it is time to start trimming the fat and sending a message that the floor is now higher and if you can't meet that minimum floor expectation, you can't be a Colt.

That said, this is Ballard, his floor for anyone that has worn the blue and white, is absurdly low, so they will both be Colts, and probably starters, next year.

FUCK CHRIS BALLARD!

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

This is basically the Ballard approach. Convince yourself that those already in your keep are inherently better than anything you could get from another roster, simply based on the fact you are familiar with them.

This is the team run-it-back approach, it is a huge driver in why we can't fucking get over the hump- the players are just "good enough" to keep from being a bottom feeder but they aren't nearly to the level it takes to win on an elite NFL level. Fuck that, it is time to start trimming the fat and sending a message that the floor is now higher and if you can't meet that minimum floor expectation, you can't be a Colt.

That said, this is Ballard, his floor for anyone that has worn the blue and white, is absurdly low, so they will both be Colts, and probably starters, next year.

FUCK CHRIS BALLARD!

You always have a criticism, but how about for once you talk about what you would like to see happen as an alternative instead of just incessantly bitching, whining, moaning, and desperately wishing that Chris Ballard will finally come to your bedroom tonight?

[albany ed]

For me, both Kelly and Smith have become part time players, so they are the chief reason depth becomes more important. Keeping Smith is very costly and IMO, not worth it. This money can be used to get some serious depth. As for Kelly, first of all, thank you, you've been a great center for the Colts for years. However, the harsh truth of pro football is that it takes a toll on your body, particularly for interior linemen. If you're going to miss half the season and not be that healthy for the other half, it's time to hang it up. This money can be spent elsewhere and the Colts can have the depth they require.

[ukcolt]

I am not sure what some of you were watching last year. Braden Smith had a knee injury that he was battling through and was still playing fairly decent football, next to the turnstile that was Dalton Tucker. For what it might be worth he had a 66.2 grade with PFF, which ranked him as the 49th best tackle in the league. He had an 83.3 grade in 2023. We don't know what his personal issues are and I sincerely hope that things are not too catastrophic, he is by far our best option at RT if healthy. He is one of the top 5 RT's in the league assuming he is fully healthy. People also need to realise he is only 28 years old, 29 in March, he is in his absolute prime years as a player. Fingers crossed he, or his family are ok. If he returns to the standards of 2023 he is on a fair market price on this contract at $19.75m

The problem as fans, we are not privy to his ongoing issues so don't know how to plan going forward.......but for the love of god that isn't our job either, we are just fans.

[ukcolt]

I do agree though that I think it is time to move on from Ryan Kelly. He had a reasonable season last year, ranking according to PFF as the 17th best center. But in his absence Bortolini stepped in and played to a very similar standard, and was ranked as PFF's 22nd ranked center. Kelly excels in pass protection, whereas Bortolini was a more rounded player, but you would like to think he has far more potential to grow and develop as a player. What we would miss, initially at least is the elite level of tactical nous regards protections. Which might be a significant factor with the perceived inabilities that AR has on reading some of the disguises defenses show presnap.

A starting line of Raimann, Nelson, Bortolini, Fries and Smith could be awesome. Goncalves, Freeland, Glowinski, Tucker and French backing them up is also solid depth.

Monies invested in this lineup would be Raimann $3.5m, Nelson $22.7m, Bortonlini, $1.2m, Fries lets guess $13m, Smith $19.75m. That would be a total of 60.15m for the starters, the backups (French $1m, Goncalves 1.9m, Freeland $1.3m, Glowinski $1.5m, Tucker $1m) would command a further $6.7m, for a grand total of about $67m

For context last year we spent $67.3m

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

I am not sure what some of you were watching last year. Braden Smith had a knee injury that he was battling through and was still playing fairly decent football, next to the turnstile that was Dalton Tucker. For what it might be worth he had a 66.2 grade with PFF, which ranked him as the 49th best tackle in the league. He had an 83.3 grade in 2023. We don't know what his personal issues are and I sincerely hope that things are not too catastrophic, he is by far our best option at RT if healthy. He is one of the top 5 RT's in the league assuming he is fully healthy. People also need to realise he is only 28 years old, 29 in March, he is in his absolute prime years as a player. Fingers crossed he, or his family are ok. If he returns to the standards of 2023 he is on a fair market price on this contract at $19.75m

The problem as fans, we are not privy to his ongoing issues so don't know how to plan going forward.......but for the love of god that isn't our job either, we are just fans.

I'm not a huge fan of PFF grades, but just by watching, Matt Goncalves was not a noticeable dropoff from Braden Smith, so why pay Smith $20 mil when Goncalves can provide similar play for 3rd round rookie money? I'll put it this way: I'd rather have Jevon Holland and Goncalves starting at RT than Braden Smith.