The Colts announced in the fourth quarter of their preseason game with the Arizona Cardinals that center Tanor Bortolini would be questionable to return with a toe injury.
With the starters not playing for the Colts, Bortolini got the start at center. Last week, in the preseason opener against Denver, it was Danny Pinter who was first off the bench at center after Ryan Kelly.
In his debut in Week 1of the preseason, Bortolini didn’t allow any pressures in nine pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF.
Every rookie navigates a learning curve when making the jump from college to the NFL, but as offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter described recently, the transition at center can be a particularly tough one to make.
Bortolini, however, continues to steadily progress, with perhaps his playing time in this game evidence of that.
“We ask a lot of those guys communication-wise,” Cooter said, “with our guys up front, with the quarterbacks, with everybody, making decisions about maybe how we’re going to block a certain scheme, how we’re going to pick up a certain blitz.
“We ask a ton of those guys and all we see out of Bort is him getting better and better and better every week, every day, every walkthrough. Cleaning up maybe something that wasn’t perfect the day before and getting that thing fixed for the next day.”
Bortolini has the ability to play all three interior positions, but this summer, he is trying to lock down that backup center role behind Kelly.
