Colts officially ending Chaz Green experiment proves they’re comfortable

The Indianapolis Colts’ lost a staple of their offensive line shortly after the regular season, as longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo announced his retirement.

The decision was viewed as a bombshell among fans, and understandably so. While Castonzo dealt with his fair share of injuries in recent seasons, he was still dominating at the position and was approaching his age-33 season, which isn’t that old for an OL.

As we know, the Colts signed Eric Fisher as his replacement. With Fisher still recovering from an Achilles tear and unlikely to join the starting lineup until October, Indianapolis landed free agents Sam Tevi and Julie’n Davenport to batten down the hatches in the meantime.

How much confidence do the Colts have in Tevi and Davenport? Well, apparently a lot, because they just allowed former reserve LT Chaz Green to sign with the Steelers.

The Colts parting ways with Chaz Green is a good sign for 2021.

A former third-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2015, Green appeared in 15 games for Indianapolis last year, logging one start and playing just 19% of the offensive snaps.

Green was forced into action while Castonzo was recovering from an MCL injury and after top  backup Le’Raven Clark tore his Achilles against the Texans.

For as much as the fan base got on Green for not making a seamless transition to a prominent role, he more than held his own for a third-stringer, receiving a 61.8 blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing just two penalties over 209 snaps.

The fact Indianapolis feels comfortable enough to let him sign elsewhere suggests they’re confident in their current left tackle options. While it remains to be seen which one of Tevi or Davenport will win the temporary starting job, this has to encourage fans, no?

Could the Colts have re-signed Green for more depth? Maybe, but it would be difficult to rationalize having six (!) tackles on the 53-man roster. Even if they were to bring Green back, chances are he’d get released after Fisher is ready to be activated.

The bottom line is Indianapolis wanted new faces after both Green and Clark struggled with injuries as Castonzo’s primary backups. With Tevi and Davenport, who have 72 combined starts over their careers, however, the Colts will have more experience and stability behind Fisher than they maybe ever had behind Castonzo? At least in recent seasons, for sure.

What more could fans ask for?

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