Rumors have circled all offseason that the Indianapolis Colts were interested in signing a veteran offensive tackle in free agency. Those rumors came to fruition on May 10.
The Colts have announced they have signed veteran offensive tackle Dennis Kelly.
Entering his 11th NFL season, Kelly has spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers. His signing gives the Colts two offensive linemen who have experience at left tackle to compete with rookie Bernhard Raimann this summer.
The Colts also announced four other roster moves on May 10. Indianapolis has released linebacker Malik Jefferson and tackle Shon Coleman. The Colts have also waived tight ends Farrod Green and Eli Wolf.
We have signed T Dennis Kelly and released T Shon Coleman and LB Malik Jefferson.
We have also waived TE Farrod Green and TE Eli Wolf.
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How Dennis Kelly Fits With the Colts
The Colts welcomed Kelly for a visit to their facility on April 27 just before the NFL Draft. It took nearly two more weeks, but Kelly is now officially joining the Colts.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. Last season, Kelly signed a contract with a $1.075 million base salary and $250,000 signing bonus. He counted as a $1.325 million cap hit for Green Bay in 2021.
Spotrac reports the Colts entered May 10 with about $13.5 million remaining in salary cap space for the 2022 season.
Kelly, 32, made only four starts with the Packers last season, but he played well when the team needed him in December because of injuries. Kelly also played in parts of six other games and started the playoff contest versus the San Francisco 49ers.
Including the playoff game, Kelly missed just one offensive snap in the final five Green Bay contests last season.
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Kelly has started at least one game in nine of the past 10 seasons. He has started at least 10 games in a year twice — his rookie year with the Eagles in 2012 and in 2020 with the Titans.
Most of Kelly’s starting experience has been at right tackle, but he played both left and right tackle for the Packers last year.
With Kelly, the Colts now have a veteran tackle to compete with Matt Pryor and rookie Bernhard Raimann. Indianapolis signed Pryor to a one-year deal worth upwards of $6 million this offseason. Pryor, who is 27 and was also once drafted by the Eagles, started five games at tackle for the Colts last year.
Indianapolis selected Raimann at No. 77 overall in the third round of this year’s draft.
If Pryor or Raimann earn the starting left tackle role in training camp, Kelly will provide great depth as a swing tackle off the bench.
Bringing the Roster Down Closer to 90 Players
To help make room for Kelly and undrafted rookie free agents, the Colts parted ways with Malik Jefferson, Shon Coleman, Farrod Green and Eli Wolf.
Jefferson played one game for the Colts last season. He didn’t receive a defensive snap but played nine snaps on special teams.
Coleman hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since 2017. He started all 16 games for the Cleveland Browns that season and played in seven games during 2016.
The Colts added both Green and Wolf to their practice squad during the season last year. Green played in one game, appearing on offense for five snaps and special teams for one snap. Wolf was never activated for a regular season game.
With the addition of Kelly and the four cuts, the Colts have 92 players on the active roster according to Spotrac.
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Colts Sign Former Rival Offensive Lineman, Make Other Cuts to Roster