INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts are losing another offensive line free agent to the Minnesota Vikings.
Guard Will Fries follows veteran center Ryan Kelly north for a five-year, $88 million deal. Fries was one of the most sought after interior linemen on the free agent market after an impressive early career in the NFL.
Fries’ season was cut short last year after breaking his leg in Jacksonville during Week 5’s matchup. Fries needed immediate surgery at the Florida hospital to repair the fractured tibia. He then spent the rest of the season on injured reserve, determined to get through rehab even stronger than he was before the injury.
“Everything’s going good,” Fries told Colts reporter JJ Stankevitz in January. “I’d like to think I’m ahead of schedule and I want to try to beat that, whatever is in my head. I’m going to do everything I can to do that… I know I’m gonna be the same player that I was. I have zero doubt about it. There’s going to be no problems at all. That’s my plan.”
The Colts drafted the former Penn State lineman in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Since then, he’s played in 40 games, 31 of them as a starter.
There’s no clear replacement for Fries on the current Colts roster. There were eight different offensive line starting lineups over last season’s 17 games. When Fries went on IR, Dalton Tucker replaced him for the next seven weeks before the Colts brought in Mark Glowinski for the final five games.
In terms of the Ryan Kelly’s replacement at center, last year’s fourth round pick Tanor Bortolini is the likely starter moving forward. The former Wisconsin standout started in five games last season as Kelly was on and off of the injury report.
The Colts will still be looking for some added depth on the offensive line moving forward before the start of the season in September.
