Stampede Blue
The Colts could be getting a key veteran starter along their interior o-line back, but it may be admittedly too late, with playoff hopes already realistically lost.
Indianapolis Colts starting center Ryan Kelly indicated on Wednesday that there’s a ‘high chance’ that he returns to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans (per the IndyStar’s Joel Erickson):
The Colts’ former 4x Pro Bowl center has missed the team’s last 5 games because of a lingering knee injury, having been placed on injured reserve. While he was designated to return to practice ahead of the Denver Broncos game, he wasn’t activated during Week 15.
Kelly (knee) was a full participant during Wednesday’s practice though, and all signs point to a return this weekend against a longtime AFC South rival.
5th-year veteran Danny Pinter made a consecutive start in Kelly’s absence last weekend, with rookie Tanor Bortolini having also served as the spot-starter previously.
Per PFF, Kelly has a +63.7 overall grade (just 25th best among all qualifying centers), including a +70.3 pass blocking grade.
However, per ESPN advanced stats, his pass block win rate of 95% is 13th best among all interior offensive linemen, while his run block win rate of 76% is 5th best respectively.
In pass protection, Kelly has allowed just a sack and 7 total QB pressures during 222 total pass blocking snaps in his limited 7 starts during the 2024 campaign.
In the last year of his current Colts contract, with a $14.625M cap hit, it’s possible the 9-year veteran, who’s spent his entire career with Indianapolis as a former 2016 first round pick, could be making one of his last home starts for the Horseshoe (with just the regular season finale at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars otherwise left).
