The Indianapolis Colts have been shuffling their offensive line a bit throughout the offseason, even doing so in a way we haven’t seen before with center Ryan Kelly and right guard Danny Pinter.
While Kelly has been the starting center since he was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, Pinter is competing for the starting right guard role for the first time in his career. Up until then, Pinter has been the backup to Kelly at center.
However, both players have been swapping out at each other’s spots. In some team drills, Pinter will be at center while Kelly takes reps at right guard.
Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady told reporters Wednesday that this is mostly due to the fact that Pinter remains the backup center behind Kelly.
“Well, he’s still our No. 2 center behind Ryan (Kelly) so we have to make sure he’s getting the reps, and we want him getting the reps with Q (Quenton Nelson) next to him with our starting guys. So, it’s a chance for that opportunity there,” Brady said.
The odd part is seeing Kelly move over to the right guard spot. That’s a position where he hasn’t worked much—if at all—during his career with the Colts.
Even so, Brady feels it’s beneficial for the young Pinter to get work at both spots so he can be prepared in case of an emergency.
“(Chris) Strausser is doing a great job with that, just making sure that he’s getting both of those opportunities both at center and guard,” Brady said. “I think it’s great even for Braden (Smith) to be able to work with a different guard. I think it’s going well.”
It isn’t clear yet if the Colts are planning to make a switch on the interior and move Kelly to right guard. That would be pure speculation at this point. But it may be something to consider if Pinter gives the Colts an edge while Kelly would still be able to hold more than his own at right guard.
Maybe all will return to normal during training camp, but this may be a storyline to keep an eye on when the team arrives back for camp at the end of July.
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