“We are supporting Braden,” Ballard told reporters inside the Indiana Convention Center. “I think the world of him and he’s been a great player for us. We will see going forward.”
The Indianapolis Colts reportedly restructured the contract of right tackle Braden Smith on Monday to ensure the seven-year veteran returns for the 2025 NFL season.
The first move on the Colts’ offseason agenda is to establish the right side of the offensive line. Smith agreed to terms on his revised contract and should be ready to make his return to the field by veteran minicamp, per sources. Smith started in 12 games last season, before missing the final five regular season games due to dealing with a personal matter that was never made public by club officials. Across the last two seasons, Smith has missed 12 out of a possible 34 games.
Colts GM Chris Ballard did not address Smith’s amorphous situation at his end-of-season press conference in January or in front of reporters at the NFL scouting combine in February.
“We are supporting Braden,” Ballard told reporters inside the Indiana Convention Center. “I think the world of him and he’s been a great player for us. We will see going forward.
When available, Smith has been a stout blocker at right tackle. Smith posted a 75.6 run block grade, which ranked tenth among right tackles that played at least 700 snaps in 2024. In 2023, Smith posted a career-best 90.1 PFF run block grade, which ranked tied for second among all tackles, behind only Lions’ Penei Sewell.
Smith faced adversity off the field in 2024 and it showed up in his performance. He drew a team-worst 12 penalties, while allowing a team-worst 18 hurries and four sacks.
“He’s doing really well and he wants to play football,” Ballard said. “We will work through the rest of it.”
Indianapolis selected Smith with the No. 37 overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. With 92 career starts, Smith has become one of the core figures of the Colts’ rather prosperous 2018 draft class that includes left guard Quenton Nelson, defensive end Tyquan Lewis and linebacker Zaire Franklin. The Colts finished eighth in the NFL averaging 137.1 rushing yards per game last season, led by running back Jonathan Taylor’s second career Pro Bowl campaign. In 14 games, Taylor rushed for 1,431 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 303 carries.
In July 2021, Smith signed a four-year, $72.4 million extension with the Colts. He was due to have a $19.75 million cap hit, which made his status in Indy unclear. Instead of releasing Smith, both parties compromised to a revised contract in order to keep Smith on the football field, while perhaps clearing up cap space to ensure other homegrown players could stick together. Smith still enters the final year of his current deal and will become a free agent in 2026.
Indianapolis currently has the tenth-highest paid offensive line at $54.7 million, according to Spotrac. With right guard Will Fries set to hit free agency, it is imperative to show continuity and solidify the right side of the offensive line this offseason.