The Indianapolis Colts haven’t made the playoffs in four seasons. Even with many experts believing the Colts had a good draft and made some nice free agency signings, they still have question marks at key positions, namely quarterback.
With an expected quarterback competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, the Colts are going to need help from other positions on the team, as both Richardson and Jones come with huge question marks.
First and foremost, the Colts offensive line is going to need to protect whomever is the starting signal caller and that starts with the blindside-protecting left tackle. Bernhard Raimann was a third-round pick in 2022 and has double-digit starts in his first three seasons. He’s entering the final year of his rookie four-year contract and Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports thinks the Colts would be wise to sign him to an extension.
“Indy’s starting left tackle is entering the final year of his rookie contract, so he could ink an extension at any point this summer,” Sullivan writes. “Raimann has started all 29 of his games played over the last two seasons and has done so at a high level. Last year, Raimann ranked as the eighth-highest graded offensive tackle in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics. So long as he continues that play in 2025, there’s no questioning that Raimann will land a sizable deal.”
Raimann has gotten better every year and gave up just 20 total pressures last year, good for 13th-best in the NFL.
Kevin Hickey of the Sporting News doesn’t think Raimann gets the credit he deserves.
“One spot that has been getting reliable production over the last two seasons has been at left tackle, where Bernhard Raimann has proven to be an underrated asset,” Hickey writes.
Left tackle depth chart
Behind Raimann, there isn’t a ton of depth. As of now, ESPN has the early depth chart behind him as Blake Freeland on the second string, Luke Tenuta with the third and Marshall Foerner running fourth.
Freeland was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and ran a 4.89 40-yard dash time at the Combine. He’s a very tall 6’7″, but he’s only played in nine games the last two seasons. Tenuta was a sixth-round pick in 2022 and has bounced around the NFL on practice squads for the most part since then. Foerner is an undrafted rookie free agent signing from Minnesota St. who will have to show a lot in training camp to make the 53-man roster.
So, the Colts are really going to have to depend on Raimann to give star running back Jonathan Taylor some room to run and help keep the quarterback upright.
The Colts need to protect the quarterback
At the very least the Colts have serious concerns surrounding their 2025 quarterback situation. Richardson, the former No. 4-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has not lived up to expectations even though he was thought to be a project when he was drafted.
Lance Zierlein NFL.com had this to say of Richardson entering that draft:
“Dual-threat quarterback with an elite physical profile and a lot of work that needs to be done to reach a potentially high ceiling,” Zierlein wrote.
So far, Indianapolis is still waiting on even a moderate ceiling. Richardson played in 11 games and threw for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. He had a paltry completion percentage of 47.7% and was sacked 14 times. That’s not acceptable at most levels of football let alone the NFL. If someone is looking for a bright spot, he did somehow manage to get a single, fifth-place vote for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award. What he was coming back from is anyone’s guess.
In 69 starts with the New York Giants since being drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Jones has a 24-44-1 record. That record in that large of a sample size shouldn’t instill much confidence if he is the Colts Week 1 starter.
In short, both of these quarterbacks will need all of the help that they can get. And, if the Colts are hoping to build a core for the future, Raimann would be a great place to start.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Indianapolis Colts Could Sign “Underrated Asset” to a “Sizable Deal” appeared first on Heavy Sports.