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According to the IndyStar’s Joel A. Erickson, the last he has heard, the ‘ship has sailed’ on veteran free agent left tackle Eric Fisher being re-signed by the Indianapolis Colts this offseason:
Now that the league year has begun, the dead money hits will remain even if Colts sign either player.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) April 12, 2022
The last I heard on Fisher was that ship has sailed. As far as T.Y., Ballard has said nice things, but it seems clear Hilton’s hoping for a bigger deal than currently offered
To begin the offseason, the Colts initially attempted to re-sign Fisher, but the two sides couldn’t agree on contract terms. Coming off a torn Achilles, the 31 year old former Pro Bowl blindside bookend of the Kansas City Chiefs started in 15 games for the Colts.
While Fisher was an asset in run blocking, featuring a PFF run blocking grade of +73.3, his pass blocking was below average (with a PFF pass blocking grade of just +61.0)—as he allowed 41 total QB pressures and 7.0 sacks in 490 total pass blocking snaps in 2021.
Still not too far removed from his late 2020 season torn Achilles, it appeared as though Fisher’s quick twitch athleticism and lateral quickness weren’t quite all the way back for the former #1 overall pick—but both could still improve the further removed he is from surgery.
As it stands, the Colts re-signed promising swing-tackle Matt Pryor to a one-year, $5.5 million deal, and it appears as though Indianapolis is comfortable with him as the starter at left tackle headed into the 2022 campaign—or at least that’s the case posturing publicly.
Pryor was productive in spot starts for the Colts this past season—including at left tackle (during 94 total snaps to be exact), and looks competent enough to be an every week NFL starter on the left side. That being said, his elevation into the starting lineup does limit the Colts’ overall offensive line depth, as he was their top swing-tackle (for a position that has proved to be a problem in adequately filling in more recent years, since really Joe Haeg in 2019 prior to acquiring Pryor).
The Colts could certainly turn to the NFL Draft to restock their lost offensive tackle depth, but there’s still a Pro Bowl caliber veteran like Duane Brown uniquely sitting in free agency.
Given that the Colts initially attempted to re-sign Fisher, presumably to be the starter, I don’t think that the door can be completely closed on the team looking to upgrade again over Pryor entirely. The price on a veteran like Brown might just have to be right though for the Colts’ liking to ultimately get a deal done.
What does look true though is that a Fisher return currently isn’t in the cards for the Colts.
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