The Indianapolis Colts have a lot of work ahead of them for the 2023 offseason.
The offensive line is one of the most crucial areas of concern in 2022. Two spots last season that became virtual holes were the left tackle position with Matt Pryor and the right guard spot with Danny Pinter. With second-year man Bernhard Raimann likely securing the blind side, could new head coach Shane Steichen bring in a familiar face to challenge for the guard role? An option may be Philadelphia Eagles veteran Isaac Seumalo.
It is fair to say the Colts’ current right guard Will Fries played decent during his time in 2022, especially for the seventh-round draft tag he had in 2021 out of Penn State. But, with the previously stated Pryor/Pinter situation, it can’t be taken for granted.
Bringing in a player like Seumalo will benefit both him and Fries. They would push each other and truly put a starter in front of Steichen and whoever the offensive line coach will be.
Seumalo has been in the NFL since 2016 when he was drafted in the third round by Philadelphia out of Oregon State University. Since then, he’s only been in an Eagles uniform. Last year during Steichen’s dominant offensive year, Seumalo tied for fourth on the offensive line in overall blocking grade (72.7 with backup center Cam Jurgens), sixth in run blocking (67.8), and in pass blocking (78.2), per Pro Football Focus. Context should be added, as Jurgens played 44 snaps for starter Jason Kelce, placing him in front of Seumalo for the run and pass-blocking grades.
Along with the satisfaction of pushing Fries and competing to start, Seumalo also likely wouldn’t command a massive contract, as he averaged about $5.3 million per year on his three-year deal, per Spotrac. He may even take the same or less money to rejoin Steichen for the potential to be in the first-team rotation come Week 1.
This offseason is just getting started for the Colts, but Steichen needs to secure the offensive line group.
Currently, the spot with the most question marks is with Fries at right guard. These question marks are also surfacing due to a lack of competition from the 2022 training camp with Pinter. The Colts can help answer these worries by bringing in an experienced blocker from arguably the most dangerous offensive line in football last year.
One that their new head coach knows very well.
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