Colts sign tackle Anthony Castonzo to 2-year, $33M deal

One of the biggest offseason dominoes for the Colts has fallen in their direction. Left tackle Anthony Castonzo parted ways with the franchise at the end of the season without any assurances the he would continue playing football. Had he chose to leave the game, Chris Ballard and the Colts would have had an incredible task to fix the team’s issues before the 2020 season gets underway.

The team already lost a franchise player last year, leaving them to consider all options to resolve the same problem many franchises have been dealing with for many years, or even decades — quarterback. To lose a franchise quarterback and franchise left tackle all within a calendar year would be devastating.

Even better news is that Castonzo has agreed to a two-year deal, indicating that he expects to play at least two more years before he against reflects on his future. This gives the Colts time to address the position.

The terms of the contract are fair for both parties. The Colts nail down their left tackle for two seasons on a deal that doesn’t hamper the ability to pursue other elite or priority free agents. With an average annual salary of $16.5M, Castonzo is at or just above the highest average annual value of any left tackle in the NFL. With that said, it’s likely this won’t last long. Including annual contract inflation, this is a reasonable deal for the Colts.

No matter how you slice it, this is a very strong start for the Colts free agency period. With Castonzo under contract, the team can move on to other in-house free agents they hope to re-sign.