Colts Should Target Ravens Free Agent RT, Ricky Wagner
By Keenan Alban
Despite spending half their draft picks on the offensive line, the Indianapolis Colts still have protection issues. They need to spend wisely in free agency, and offensive line should be on of their targets.
It’s no secret that the Colts had many problems on the offensive line this season. The only player who showed real consistency was rookie center, Ryan Kelly. Jack Mewhort, the left guard, has been very solid since the colts selected him with their 2nd round pick in 2014, but faced an injury at the end of this season that forced him to IR.
Besides Kelly and Mewhort, the rest of the colts offensive line is inconsistent, and most of the time just flat out bad. The Colts had good play from the “plug and play” rookie, Joe Haeg who played tackle in college but seemed to work better at right guard in his first NFL season.
Andrew Luck is now in his prime, and it’s not going to last forever. There is no telling how long Luck’s career will last if the Colts’ offensive line continues to allow him to be hit a league-high number of times.
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The Colts have money, and GM Ryan Grigson has said he prefers to build through the draft, but the Colts need to pull the trigger this offseason if they want to save themselves from wasting the career of one of the league’s most talented Quarterbacks. Ricky Wagner was drafted by the Ravens in the 5th round of the 2013 draft.
Wagner has played very good football for each of the last 3 years, and is still only 27 years old. The Ravens are going to do whatever they can to keep him in Baltimore, after losing Pro Bowl Guard, Kelechi Osemele, to the Raiders last March. That being said, the Colts have $59 million dollars in cap space and shouldn’t be afraid to pull the trigger on Wagner, who would become the Right Tackle for the future.
The Colts haven’t had consistent Right Tackle play since Ryan Diem, back in the Peyton Manning era. There were shining moments with Gosder Cherilus, but he hasn’t played for Indianapolis since 2014. Wagner is a viable option for the Colts to protect Andrew Luck and would finally allow the world see what Luck is capable of doing when he has time in the pocket.
Wagner will be seeking a big contract, and the Colts have the funds to give it to him. Andrew Luck is the Colts franchise, and protecting him is the most important thing to do. If the Colts don’t want to waste Luck’s career and wish to prolong it while they still can, the offensive line needs to improve. Bringing in right tackle Ricky Wagner is the best way to make that drastic improvement in the trenches.