Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Colts sign Ryan Kelly to 4-year, $50 million extension

Episode Date: September 4, 2020

On today's episode, it's all about Ryan Kelly as he signed his contract extension Thursday afternoon. Kelly is locked in with Indy on a 4-year, $50 million extension which takes him through the 2024-25 season.We talk through why this deal is so good for both sides, plus break down how Kelly is one of the best centers in the NFL. Not only in the passing game, but he's a monster in rushing situations as well.With Anthony Castonzo and Kelly locked up, who's next on Indy's offensive line? Don't be surprised if Braden Smith sees a huge deal in 2021, before Quenton Nelson follows in 2022.The Colts will have the most expensive o-line in the league very soon, but it's so worth it when you see the production across the board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of Locked on Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Today's audience, I'm Evan Sider. I'm joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue today. As we were reacting to the Colts finally inking the extension for a center, Ryan Kelly, four years, $50 million, $12 million annually, with $34 million guaranteed per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

And the Colts obviously confirmed that later on, Stephen. That makes Ryan Kelly the highest paid center in the NFL and obviously in NFL history too, which goes to show you just how valuable the Colts see Ryan Kelly in their long-term plans as well, still in the prime of his career. Stephen, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, Evan. How are you? Doing good, doing good. Let me get your thoughts. I mean, this Ryan Kelly news isn't surprising.

We all expect this to eventually happen before the season started, and they went right down the wire, so wire. So I think the deadline was Sunday, and they got it done here on Thursday afternoon. What was your reaction to seeing Kelly getting this deal and the amount of money it was? Four years, $50 million. I think it was well-deserved for both parties, even though maybe some will say Kelly's a little bit banged

up here and there. But I think last year, he proved that when he's fully healthy, he's the dominant center. Yeah, I agree. I think this was a best-case scenario for both the Colts and for Ryan Kelly. It's always good to have that contract done heading into the season. He's got that $50 million, $12.5 million annually on that extension. And so he's been such a glue guy for that offensive line that it really made sense for the Colts to go ahead and lock this down so they don't have to go into the season not knowing and not really being able to work it out.

If he has another great year, that price tag just goes up and he's already getting paid as the highest center in the league and deservedly so. He had one sack last year and 21 total QB pressures over the course of the season. So he's really the, I think it was Frank Reich that really called him the alpha dog in that offensive line group that he really took control. And ever since he was drafted, that's kind of what you saw. But those first couple of years were marred with injuries in this past year when he finally got to play all 16 games and put it all together. You really saw just how dominant that he can be and pairing him with Quentin Nelson long-term, it's going to be like the middle of the Colts offensive line

is going to be set. And in today's NFL, that's the biggest concern a lot of quarterbacks have is that pressure in their face. So it's going to ease a lot of tension, a lot of stress potentially for any quarterback the Colts have back there to have Ryan Kelly up there solidifying that middle with Quentin Nelson. So it's going to take some of that stress, some of that pressure off of them, and it's going to give them more of an opportunity to play. I think Kelly, too, just from what we've seen the last couple of years and even in the early parts of his career, obviously, I think injuries, little nicks and bruises here and there, missing a couple weeks, I think some neck issues, concussion issues in the first part of his career as well for Kelly.

When he first entered in 2016, obviously the Colts' first-round pick. The final first-round draft pick of Ryan Grickson's career is the Colts' team for Chris Boudstead in the next year. I think for Kelly, we've seen throughout his career, though, Stephen, that whether it be the running game or the passing game, Kelly's pretty above average to lead in each one of those categories. Yeah, he is one of the most well-rounded centers in the league. And at his age, he's a great value for the Colts.

He's now just entering his prime. He's now got a full season healthy under his belt. He's finally got a full offseason going into it healthy to really kind of refine his craft versus trying to rehab injuries and things like that. And so, yeah, I think that this is just a great situation for the Colts and for Ryan Kelly. Yeah, and with Kelly, too, we've seen also just how valuable he is

off the field as well, being the leader of that offensive line, their meeting room. As Frank Reich's put it, he needed an alpha dog at the center position, and Ryan Kelly's certainly been that, being a team leader in the locker room as well. Moving forward here, Stephen, I think this contract, when we see the way that teams are nowadays, Ryan Kelly will probably be the highest-paid center for a year or so, and then we'll probably see in three or four years that that contract will probably be a bargain if Kelly stays healthy. Right? Yeah. Well, if Kelly still is healthy and also,

as we know that the salary cap next year is going to be a little bit off because of COVID-19 and the restrictions on, on stadiums and attendance. But once that salary cap starts to pop up with the new TV deals, that contract is going to seem like a bargain regardless, because he is going to be one of the highest paid centers. You're going to see an inflation with different offensive linemen. You're starting to do percentages of cap and you're going, all right, well, this isn't so bad. When you've got an elite offensive line and you can keep it together, you can do a whole lot of things

to where, and having a great offensive line helps cover flaws in the quarterback. It helped cover Jacoby Brissett's flaws last year, and it's going to accentuate the things that Philip Rivers does well this year. And so I'm really excited for it. I think that it's just a fantastic deal. This season of football on your time with NFL Game Pass. You can catch every snap from every game of full game replays and see all the plays in just 45 minutes of condensed games. You can relive all the gutsy calls, crazy catches, wild comebacks, and breakout starts from every game, every week.

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Gilmore, Devonta Adams, and many more. NFL Game Pass also provides access to the entire NFL Films archive. Go to NFL.com slash Game Pass to start your free trial today. NFL Game Pass, where football never stops. When you see the interior of this offensive line, like you mentioned, Stephen, you have Quentin Nelson on the left side, Mark Glowinski on the right side,

and, of course, Ryan Kelly at center. Glow is inconsistent, you can say, at some points. Obviously, Quentin Nelson is a generational talent on a Hall of Fame path already, entering the year three, with Kelly as well, the highest-paid center, and probably, I would say, a top-five center in the the NFL too. How would you grade the interior of this offensive line, factoring in Glowinski and Nelson? I think as a whole, it's one of the top in the league for the simple fact that Kelly and Nelson are –

Nelson's the top left guard in the league. I don't have any problem saying that. And then Ryan Kelly is the top three, top five guard in the league. I don't have any problem saying that. And then Ryan Kelly is the top three, top five center in the league. And again, don't have a real problem saying that. Glowinski is the weak spot. We've said that for, I don't know, all of last year going into it. But those two combined really kind of help solidify the Colts. At least a top three interior unit at the offensive line,

if not the top interior unit. And so I think going forward, the future is really bright. As long as everybody can stay healthy, the Colts have just a dominant force in the middle. Yeah, and it's fair to say with Quentin Nelson on your offensive line in the interior, that you're going to be top three either way, with him on board there just because he's just such a dominant force he's the aaron donald so to say of offensive lineman in my opinion but looking at this offensive line as a whole for a second steven we had anthony costanzo sign his contract the two year deal 16 and a half million dollars annually through the 2021 season next year we also have braden smith who's gonna be due for a contract extension I imagine they will get done this next offseason as well.

Probably be a top five, top three paid right tackle in the NFL. At that point, if all goes well for him. This offensive line is going to be expensive here pretty fast, but the investment is worth it compared to the previous regime, Ryan Grickson, where I was just stockpiling just like below average assets, spending late round flyers on guys, Hugh Thorntons. You saw just players like that. And Gossard's share list is the free agents that didn't work out either.

It just seems like Bauer invested the offensive line right away, and he got this one right. And with Ryan Kelly, of course, the final Grixen pick, he's really developed and matured well under the Bauer era too. Just the way that everything else coalescing around Ryan Kelly, Stephen, Chris Bauer just looking back on this now with signing this Kelly deal, it's turned out almost perfectly. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think that the offensive line going forward, yeah,

you've got Anthony Costanzo for two years, but that gives you some time to find his replacement. And Braden Smith is a top 10 right tackle. And he's, he's still relatively new to the position. He's only played right tackle for a year and a half. And so he's still growing to that position, and you're seeing just how well he's played thus far. Ryan Kelly, like we've talked about the whole point of this one today is how good he is and how well-deserved this contract was for him. And Quentin Nelson's a future Hall of Famer. And so, yeah, as a whole, this offensive line, like I said before, said a little bit earlier,

one of the big things with having a good offensive line is it covers up a lot of holes that your quarterback might have in their game. It's what New England did with Tom Brady for the longest time, until Tom Brady really became Tom Brady is they had a good offensive line. It's like, you know, all the different teams that go to the Super Bowl with game manager quarterbacks, you have a great offensive line, and you can

carry that quarterback. And that's what the Colts really, Chris Ballard has focused on the trenches. And he said it from day one that that was going to be his focus. And that's exactly what he's done. So Chris Ballard, you know, man of his word, he tells you what he's going to do when he does it. Yeah, and it really goes to show just the way that Ballard's run the ship so far in Indianapolis, that he's doing it perfectly right. I mean, hitting on multiple draft picks, he built the trenches up on both sides, getting the crown jewel on the defensive side and defensive line with DeForest Buck from this past offseason via trade.

And it's going to pay off huge dividends for them. Of course, Quentin Nelson, Braden Smith in the 2018 draft. Ryan Kelly has been the mainstay there since 2016, alongside Anthony Costanzo, who was a Bill Pullian draft pick all the way back, way back when.

And he's been a underrated left tackle in the NFL as well. When you see this overall five man unit, Stephen, closing out the show, the last question I had for you, I think with Philip Rivers, let's get back to him for a second because for the Colts to do well this year, I think this offensive line has to bounce back to where it was in 2018. I think in 2019 they were still elite, but I think they maybe dropped off just a hair or two just because Jacoby Bursette was their quarterback, held the ball a little bit too long.

We had just a little bit of leaks here and there. But I think this year, Stephen, is it fair to say that this Colts offensive line could be in tune for maybe even a better year than we saw in 2018 when they had 18 sacks allowed? Because that team, that offensive line, that five-man unit back then, was just now getting – gelling together mid-season of 2018. Could this be a magical year for this offensive line where we could see 18 or less sacks again? think so and and for a couple of reasons in 2018 what they had was they

had they finally had Braden Smith in what five six games into the season they put him in at New England and that's when he took over the right tackle spot and never looked back Glowinski I think came midway through the season in there at the right guard spot and never looked back. Glowinski, I think, came midway through the season in there at the right guard spot and really kind of solidified his place. And then the offensive line played really well. The other thing is Andrew Luck was notoriously bad at hanging onto the ball because he wanted to make the play.

And he was phenomenal and was magical and and everything that you wanted a franchise quarterback to be but he he held on the ball too and that was one of his big faults Jacoby Brissett is like Andrew Luck holding the ball times 20 because he just didn't he would pat pat pat didn't want to throw the ball um And so Phillip Rivers is the exact opposite of that. So you've got a couple of factors here that are playing in. You've got an offensive line that now has had their third year in the system and third year together as a group. And you've got Phillip Rivers, a quarterback that has familiarity

with Frank Reich's system and knows where he's going to go and goes. He's got a quick release. It's not going to be what Colts fans have seen for the past two years in that the quarterback's going to hold the ball like a statue back there, sometimes maybe roll out a little bit here or there. That ball is going to be out of Phillip Rivers' hands. So it's going to play a huge difference in terms of how fast the offense plays and how little sacks they're likely to give up. Yeah, and this off the line too from the running game standpoint, Stephen, I think even more so in the passing game.

We see at some points how dominant they are in the running game. Jacksonville last year, Kansas City, the Houston playoff game in 2018-2019. I think this unit here with Jonathan Taylor, with Marlon Mack, with Naeem Hines as well as their scat back, this could be a team that is it fair to say they were up there already last year in rushing a yards per game. This could be a year where Phil Burrus at quarterback, it's going to be pick your poison, so to say, for defenses. This could be a year for them where they could be top three,

maybe number one in rushing yards per game this year, in my opinion. Yeah, they have the opportunity to if that's what they want to do. And I think you're spot on in saying that it's a pick your poison kind of situation. Because they've got the weapons on the outside now with T.Y. Hilton, Paris Campbell, Michael Pittman, Zach Paschal, whoever that wide receiver five or wide receiver six is, plus tight ends and running backs out of the backfield. Or you've got one of the best offensive lines in football with two fantastic running backs that fit this scheme in Marlon Mack and Jonathan Taylor. And so really, defenses aren't going to be able to just focus on one or the other because Phillip Rivers is going to realize that pre-snap and he's going to switch to the right play. And so there's going to

be a lot of games trying to be played by defenses to try to confuse Phillip Rivers. But ultimately, if he can figure out what the defense is doing, the Colts are going to be having – they should have a top five offense in the league this year. And I don't think that that's out of the realm of possibility. And I just – I have such faith in this team and with this this coaching staff and with this roster and what Chris Ballard's put together

I think that really this guy's limit for this these guys last one for you Steven I imagine we both know the answer for this one but do you imagine any more extensions happening between now and Sunday when I believe the extension deadline is going to be for this NFL and especially the Colts I mean we have T.Y. Hilton we have Anthony Walker Marlon Mack I don't personally see any extensions happening I think it's gonna be a wait and see for the rest of the guys but what about you yeah I don't see anybody else getting any kind of extension right now Ryan Kelly was the big one Anthony Costanzo in the offseason was a big one. And so in terms of the rest of the guys, I just, I don't see anybody getting extended prior to Sunday. Stephen, I appreciate the time as always talking with you, man. You guys can go follow him on Twitter if you're not already at Nice Read Stephen. Go to Stampede Blue and listen

to his own podcast and read his work over there as well. Stephen, I appreciate the time. Thanks, Evan.