Will Fries

Colts Waive CB Dallis Flowers

October 7th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Sam Robinson

Part of a competition to commandeer one of the Colts’ outside cornerback jobs this offseason, Dallis Flowers has fallen out of favor with the team’s coaching staff. The backup corner has tumbled far since losing that summer position battle.

The Colts waived Flowers on Monday and opened up another roster spot by placing guard Will Fries on IR. A starting guard, Fries is set for leg surgery after being carted off during Indianapolis’ latest loss in Jacksonville.

These moves leave the Colts with some roster calls to make, as this move leaves them with only three boundary corners — leaving slot bastion Kenny Moore out of this equation — on the 53-man squad. Gus Bradley‘s defense ranks 29th against the pass.

Flowers started all four games he played for the Colts last season, before an injury shut him down. A JuJu Brents injury impacted the Colts’ CB group in Week 1; the 2023 second-round pick is out for the season. Flowers, a 2022 UDFA, had competed with 2023 seventh-rounder Jaylon Jones to start opposite Brents. Jones won the competition, and among the Colts’ top three boundary corners going into camp, he is now the last man standing.

This Flowers cut comes after he was involved in Brian Thomas Jr.‘s 85-yard touchdown reception in the Jaguars’ 37-34 win. Flowers has played 89 defensive snaps thus far this season. Flowers came to the Colts as a former Division II and NAIA standout, but he now represents the second multiyear Indianapolis CB contributor cut since the team finalized its 53-man roster in late August. Indy waived Darrell Baker to make room for a subsequent Samuel Womack waiver claim. Baker is now with the Titans.

Facing criticism for showing too much faith in their roster this offseason, the Colts resisted outside calls to add at cornerback. They did not draft one, keeping the Brents-Jones-Flowers-Baker setup in place. Three of those cogs are out of the picture now, with veteran Chris Lammons now playing a key role behind Jones and Womack. The August waiver claim moved into the starting lineup following Brents’ injury; Pro Football Focus has viewed the ex-49er’s Indianapolis start well, ranking him sixth at the position. Four corners, including former Cowboys second-rounder Kelvin Joseph, are on the Colts’ practice squad.

Colts G Will Fries To Undergo Leg Surgery

October 6th, 2024 at 5:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

Will Fries was carted off the field during the Colts’ Week 5 loss to the Jaguars. A long-term absence is in store for the fourth-year guard as a result.

Fries is set to undergo surgery tonight in a Jacksonville hospital, as noted by Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star. No immediate prognosis is in place, but the severity of the ailment – a tibia fracture in his right leg – is clear. A move to injured reserve should be expected, and it will be interesting to see if Fries will be able to return at some point late in the year.

The 26-year-old’s absence (regardless of how long it winds up being) will be acutely felt up front for the Colts. Fries made only three appearances during his rookie season, but he made nine starts the following year and took on a permanent first-team role in 2023. Last year resulted in another career-best PFF grade, and he landed the 32nd-best evaluation for guards.

Through the early portion of the current campaign, Fries has exceled in the ground game in particular. The former seventh-rounder entered Week 5 as PFF’s second-highest rated guard, and continuing that strong play would have been key for him individually and the Colts as a team. As a pending free agent, today’s injury threatens to hinder Fries’ market value on a second Indianapolis contract – something which could be challenging to afford given the investment already made in fellow guard Quenton Nelson – or one sending him to a new team.

The Colts were already without center Ryan Kelly for Sunday’s contest, and losing Fries thrust another inexperienced blocker into the mix. Dalton Tucker, an undrafted rookie, took over at right guard in place of the Penn State product, and he could occupy a starting role for the foreseeable future. The outcome of Fries’ surgery and his prognosis will be worth watching for closely.

Latest On Colts’ OL Situation

July 8th, 2023 at 2:02pm CST by Ely Allen

After years of dominant offensive line play, the last season of offensive line coach Chris Strausser‘s tenure saw an uncharacteristically down year for the team’s position group up front. With Strausser now coaching for rival Houston, the Colts are hoping that Tony Sparano can get the line back on track.

After the spring, it appears that the team has no plans to switch up the starting lineup with which they ended the 2022 season, according to Mike Chappell of FOX 59. Left tackle Bernhard Raimann, left guard Quenton Nelson, center Ryan Kelly, right guard Will Fries, and right tackle Braden Smith all return to start in 2023.

After starting his career in an elite manner, Nelson’s play has dropped slightly in the past two years. He’s still a Pro Bowl talent who is in no danger of losing his starting job, but after an extension that would make him the league’s highest paid guard at the time became inevitable, he’s gone from a top-three guard in the NFL to top-20, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Fries, a seventh-round pick from 2021, was asked to step up as a starter for the second-half of last season. It took him a bit to find his footing, but he displayed a few strong performances to end the season, and he’ll start the year opposite Nelson.

At center, Kelly has shown flashes of talent that have made him a top-10 center in the past. He bounced back after a dismal 2021 season but still didn’t quite reach the top-form we saw from him just a few years ago. His job should continue to be safe as backups Wesley French and Dakoda Shepley have a combined zero starts.

On the outside ends of the line, the team will aim to get Raimann and Smith a full year together. Raimann stepped up a few games into the season last year and performed admirably as a rookie at what is widely considered the toughest job on the line. Now, with 11 starts under his belt, Raimann is ready to not only perform but excel on the blindside in Year 2. Smith continues to be a bright spot on the line, even in a down year for the group. The only challenge with Smith seems to be keeping him on the field. Smith has missed nine games since the start of the 2020 season, and keeping him healthy throughout the year could be big for the integrity of the line.

The roster consistency gave Indianapolis the luxury of not needing to do much to address the position group this offseason. No big men were added in free agency, but the team added two rookies in the draft in fourth-round pick Blake Freeland out of BYU and seventh-round pick Jake Witt out of Northern Michigan. While Witt has an NFL frame that could help him contribute as a rookie depth piece if needed, he’s likely a project that needs a bit of time to develop. Freeland, on the other hand, looks a bit more NFL-ready and is expected to stand in as the team’s swing tackle as a rookie. If Smith does end up missing any time or Raimann experiences a bit of a sophomore slump, Freeland should be the first name off the bench to fill in.

So, that’s the situation heading into 2023. There’s a little concern over the lack of personnel adjustments after a disappointing performance in 2022, but there’s hope that consistency and a new face in the coaching staff will help push this group to its usual dominance. They also inserted that fresh blood that has potential to energize the line, if necessary.

Colts Sign Kwity Paye, 4 Other Draft Picks

May 6th, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts have jumped out to an early lead in draft pick signings. They agreed to terms with five draftees Thursday, including their top two picks — defensive linemen Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo.

Chosen 21st overall, Paye will be expected to play a key role for the Colts as a rookie. The team entered the draft with a significant edge rusher need, and the Michigan product was viewed as one of the top outside pressure artists available. Paye ranked as Scouts Inc.’s top pass-rushing prospect in this year’s draft, and for good reason. This was thanks in part to a 2019 campaign where the Michigan product finished with 6.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.

While this was not viewed as a strong D-line draft class, the Colts have not re-signed Justin Houston and did not have a steady edge presence opposite him in 2020. The team doubled up at this position group to start the weekend. Chosen 54th overall out of Vanderbilt, Odeyingbo may profile as a player who operates both outside and inside — perhaps similar to Denico Autry, who departed for Tennessee in free agency. Odeyingbo, however, qualifies as a project. He may miss his rookie season, having suffered an Achilles’ tendon tear in January while training for the draft.

Only fourth-round pick Kylen Granson, a tight end, and former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger (Round 6) are unsigned from Indianapolis’ draft class. Here are the Colts’ rookie signees thus far:

Kwity Paye, DE (Michigan, Round 1)
Dayo Odeyingbo, DL (Vanderbilt, Round 2)
Shawn Davis, S (Florida, Round 5)
Mike Strachan, WR (Charleston, W.V., Round 7)
Will Fries, OL (Penn State)