Among the issues for the Indianapolis Colts in the last few years is not the offensive line. The O-line has been one of the better units in the NFL, but this offseason, two pieces of the line left in free agency. Right guard Will Fries and center Ryan Kelly both signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
Indy plans to replace them with Matt Gonclaves at right guard, and either Danny Pinter or Tanor Bortolini at center. Gonclaves was solid when he played for the Colts in 2024, but he was a tackle. He will be transitioning to guard.
Pinter has been with Indy since 2020, but he has never earned full-time reps. One reason is that he is pretty atrocious in pass protection. He is decent in terms of run-blocking, but being solid in one aspect should not make him a starting center. In preseason Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, Pinter played on nine pass-rush snaps and allowed two pressures. Not good.
Tanor Bortolini has locked down the Indianapolis Colts starting center spot
Bortolini, though, got the start and had 28 pass-rush reps and gave up just one pressure. He also showed he could run-block well, too. Thankfully, he got a lot of experience in 2024 at center by picking up 348 snaps.
After watching Bortolini versus Pinter against the Ravens, it is clear that head coach Shane Steichen and the rest of his coaching staff believe Bortolini is the guy to have at center. All the player has to do is not mess that up, and he didn't against Baltimore.
In fact, Pinter played more like a guy who should struggle to make the roster at all. He certainly cannot be trusted to pick up many reps along the offensive line, though his limited versatility could be valuable enough to keep him if the team gets in a pinch.
The other aspect of elevating Tanor Bortolini and hoping he works out well is that he is only 23 years old and could lock down the Indianapolis Colts' starting center spot for most of the next decade. He has a high football IQ and doesn't make silly mistakes. In fact, in all those reps in 2024, he only committed one penalty, and that was in his first game.
The hope now is that he stays healthy. If he plays well enough, as expected, in preseason Week 2 versus the Green Bay Packers, it might be worth holding Bortolini out of preseason Week 3. He has earned that as much as he has earned the starting position.