The price just went up for Colts free agent tackle Anthony Castonzo
A recent tackle extension puts free agent to be Anthony Castonzo‘s price up. Will the Indianapolis Colts pony up to re-sign him?
The Indianapolis Colts have some pending free agents to make decisions on as free agency sits just a month away. The idea of bringing back Devin Funchess has been discussed, but a more important free agent looms: tackle Anthony Castonzo.
Castonzo has been a stalwart at left tackle for nine season with the Colts. He’s started 16 games in six of his nine seasons, and has never played less than 11 games in any season in his career. His play hasn’t dropped either. Castonzo allowed just three sacks in 2019 and committed just two penalties, both of which were among the lowest in football. He also only allowed just 34 pressures in 2019, and made PFF’s All Pro second team at tackle.
Castonzo is still weighing his options as far as returning to play football, but if he does decide to return, the Colts will have to pony up for his services.
Yesterday, the Arizona Cardinals extended tackle D.J. Humphries, signing him to a three year, $45 million deal, with $29 million guaranteed and $30 million in the first two years of the deal.
So why is this important when discussion Castonzo’s contract with the Colts? Humphries started in all 16 games last year, and while he wasn’t anything more than an average player at the position, he was the best Arizona had. They couldn’t afford to let him leave.
Other tackles that could potentially enter free agency, Jack Conklin and Bryan Bulaga, will likely get more per year than Humphries. This comes into play for Castonzo as well. His projected value was around $15 million, but with the Humphries deal, that price will almost certainly go up.
The good news for the Colts is that they have the space to bring back Castonzo for whatever he wants, if it’s around $17-18 million per season. He’s certainly earned that pay based on his 2019 season, but it’s worth noting that other teams have taken notice and could be ready to make a run at him.
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It will be interesting to see how this turns out over the next month, but the hope is Castonzo’s back with the Colts for 2020 and beyond.