Indianapolis Colts fans have done a lot of waiting this offseason.
They waited for the team to find a new quarterback. They waited for the team to spend in free agency and/or make trades.
They’ve been waiting for the draft to see how general manager Chris Ballard is going to address various vacancies.
But perhaps most of all, they’ve been waiting for contract extensions for their best players. Isn’t that where all the cap space was supposed to go?
Darius Leonard and Braden Smith will be free agents after 2021.
But most importantly, taking care of three-time All-Pro Quenton Nelson needs to be atop the list. After the Colts exercised his fifth-year option on Wednesday, it reminded everyone that this deal needs to be done ASAP.
Colts picked up the fifth-year option on the contract for perennial Pro-Bowl guard Quenton Nelson.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 28, 2021
Will an Indianapolis Colts extension follow Quenton Nelson’s 5th-year option?
Why keep waiting? Nelson’s value isn’t going down from a performance standpoint. He’s the first player since Barry Sanders to start his career with three First-Team All-Pro selections.
It’s understandable for organizations to want their players to finish their rookie deals, but Nelson is the exception to that practice.
The Colts offensive line very much is not the Colts offensive line without him. And if Ballard is in the business of spending shrewdly, it’s always better to sign players of Nelson’s caliber as early as possible because teams end up saving money in the long run since the market is always resetting itself.
#Colts picked up the fifth-year option on All-Pro G Quenton Nelson. Easiest decision they'll make this offseason. It's for $13.754M fully-guaranteed for 2022, but they would love to get an extension done before that.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 28, 2021
Nelson is the present and future of the Colts’ O-line. There’s no scenario that’s acceptable in which he isn’t in Indianapolis after his five-year contract expires. Also, getting his contract situation settled will provide the team with more clarity in regard to the salary cap — which is supposed to balloon anyway — for years to come.
If you ask Colts fans, this should have already happened by now, especially after the team told everyone that the reason for sitting on the plentiful cap space after the Carson Wentz trade was because money needed to be saved for the homegrown franchise cornerstones.
Well, we’re waiting. And we won’t be waiting another year or two. Because the longer this drags on, it’ll create unnecessary questions and speculation that a Super Bowl-hopeful squad doesn’t need to be dealing with.
We know you messed up with the Pierre Desir contract, Ballard. Don’t worry about it. You can spend a lot of money on other investments that are sure to pan out.
