The Indianapolis Colts’ top free agent this offseason is right guard Will Fries, who Pro Football Focus believes has earned a big pay day.
Recently, PFF put together its list of offensive free agents that “deserve to get paid” and on that list was Fries.
Unfortunately, Fries’ 2024 season was cut short due to a tibia injury he suffered in Week 5. However, up to that point, he was playing like one of the better guards in football.
According to PFF’s metrics, through the first five games, Fries ranked 10th in pass-blocking grade, allowing just six pressures, and was fourth in run-blocking grade.
During the 2024 offseason, the guard market really started to take off and Fries could benefit from that this year. PFF projects that Fries’ next contract will be for four years and worth $57.25 million in total. This includes $30 million guaranteed and an average annual value of $14.31 million.
Among guards, if Fries did receive this deal, he would be the 13th highest-paid player at his position in 2025 by average annual value, per Over the Cap.
The Colts currently rank 18th in salary cap space this offseason with over $28 million in available space. Like every other team, they do have the ability to create more room.
For a team that, as GM Chris Ballard said, isn’t close after finishing 8-9, there are a number of position groups that he could add to this offseason in an effort to bolster the competition throughout the roster.
However, while I don’t think roster turnover is a bad thing for this Colts team given how the last few seasons have gone, not finding a way to bring Fries back could create a big hole at right guard that would need to be filled.
