Colts have made it 'clear' they don't want to do early extension with C Ryan Kelly

Indianapolis Colts’ center Ryan Kelly is entering the final year of his deal, but from the sounds of it, extension talks won’t be happening any time soon.

With veterans and rookies reporting for training camp on Wednesday, Kelly said that the Colts’ made it “clear,” according to James Boyd of The Athletic, that early extension talks wouldn’t be taking place. Kelly, however, would still like to stay with the team.

“We made it known that we wanted to stay and have an extension,” said Kelly to reporters.

Kelly added that his representation went to the team wanting to do an extension, but the Colts didn’t see it as a priority for them.

After missing the Pro Bowl in 2022, Kelly, along with the rest of the offensive line, bounced back in 2023. He went from allowing 25 pressures and five sacks in 2022 to only seven pressures and one sack in 2023.

Among the center position, Kelly ranked first in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric and posted the highest run-blocking grade of his career as well. On PFF’s positional rankings, Kelly was listed as the fourth-best center heading into 2024.

As the center, Kelly will play a key role in the development of quarterback Anthony Richardson. There is, of course, the leadership element that Kelly brings to the table, both on and off the field. But there is also his ability pre-snap to identify and communicate needed protection changes to the rest of the offense, helping to put Richardson in a position to succeed.

“Ryan’s my brother,” said Quenton Nelson. “He gives everything he can for this organization, and especially his guys on the offensive line. He’s been a leader since I got here. A guy I looked up to when I got here, and he’s so important to our O-line room, especailly, and then this team as well.

“He played great last year, and just really happy for him to do that last year after what he’s gone through. It shows what a tough person he is and how much he loves this team.”

In the final year of his deal, Kelly comes with a cap hit of $14.625 million–the fourth largest on the team. Back in April, the Colts drafted Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini in the fourth-round, who very well could be the team’s future starting center.