Which free agent can the Indianapolis Colts not afford to lose this offseason?
Pro Football Focus recently named the free agent that each NFL team should prioritize re-signing, and for the Colts, the pick is obvious: Will Fries.
Here at Colts Wire, we recently categorized each of Indianapolis’ unrestricted free agents and at the top of the list was Fries. To see how the rest of the list was comprised, click here.
Unfortunately, Fries’ 2024 season was cut short due to a season-ending leg injury that he sustained in the Colts’ Week 5 matchup against Jacksonville.
However, before then, Fries was operating at a very high level and building off the momentum that he had established during the 2023 season.
Out of 69 eligible guards during the first five games of the season, Fries ranked fourth in PFF’s run-blocking grade. In pass protection grade, Fries ranked 10th, allowing six pressures over 153 pass-blocking snaps.
“His 86.9 PFF overall grade still ranked second among all guards who played at least 250 snaps in 2024,” wrote PFF’s Dalton Wasserman. “If he can fully recover from the serious injury, the Colts could field one of the best offensive lines in the NFL next season.”
In addition to losing Fries last season to injury, the Colts dealt with several other injuries along the offensive line that hindered their play throughout the course of the season.
There was a stretch of games from Weeks 9-12 where Jonathan Taylor and the run game struggled to get going, and when Anthony Richardson returned to the starting lineup, he was among the most pressured quarterbacks in football from Weeks 11-16.
If the Colts don’t re-sign Fries, they have major question marks at the right guard position, either having to rely on Dalton Tucker to make a big jump or they’ll have to turn to a veteran option, such as Mark Glowinski, unless they plan to take a swing elsewhere in free agency.
Success for this offense is going to start in the trenches. A strong run game is a must as is time in the pocket for Richardson.