The Indianapolis Colts know going into the rest of the offseason that they will need to figure out a way to get a contract extension done with left guard Quenton Nelson.
Expected to be the highest-paid guard in the NFL by a wide margin, Nelson will reset the market at the position for interior offensive linemen. The four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro is likely to approach the $20 million mark when it comes to average annual value.
While this deal reportedly remains a priority for the Colts, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported in May that the deal could take time because of how big the contract will be.
The Colts would like to prioritize re-signing Nelson but know this will be costly. That’s why this deal could take time. The guard market is very reasonable, with Jacksonville’s Brandon Scherff being the highest paid at $16.5 million per year. But that might be part of the problem. Nelson, 26, is widely considered the NFL’s best guard by a wide margin and could want closer to $20 million annually. I have heard the same sentiment from several veteran agents: Nelson will break the bank. While Nelson — who has a career pass block win rate of 94.7% — doesn’t play left tackle, this might be a left tackle conversation based on money.
Luckily for Nelson and the Colts, Indianapolis budgets for in-house talent and doesn’t spend big in free agency. The Colts still have $14.4 million in 2022 cap space, and that’s with Nelson’s $13.76 million cap hit off the fifth-year option included — which can be reduced on a new deal.
There’s a chance we may be waiting until closer to training camp for this deal to be done. For instance, right tackle Braden Smith and linebacker Darius Leonard signed their extensions in late July and early August, respectively, in 2021.
How the Colts will go about the extension will be interesting. They can add on to the fifth-year option, effectively beginning the new deal in 2023 when the salary cap is expected to be higher.
Or they can reduce the salary-cap hit in 2022 by replacing the fifth-year option with the first year of the new deal.
Regardless, the deal is going to be a priority for the Colts and it will be one that should get done with minimal road bumps even if a $20 million AAV is much higher than the next highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Nelson is on a Hall of Fame trajectory so we should expect general manager Chris Ballard to get this deal done as quickly and as painless as possible.
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