Upcoming Colts training camp positional battle to watch: Starting Center

Another Colts camp positional battle to take note of, this time at starting center.

The Indianapolis Colts are just a few days kicking off training camp, and one of the true positional battles is at an offensive line spot that hasn’t had an open starting competition in nearly close to a decade.

With longtime veteran Ryan Kelly departing to the Minnesota Vikings in free agency, the Colts have their first vacancy at starting center in 9 NFL seasons.

There’s two top challengers to take note of in the competition outlined below:

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Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

The Favorite: Tanor Bortolini

When the Colts selected the ‘plug-and-play,’ polished Wisconsin center in the 4th round of the 2024 NFL Draft, it felt like Bortolini was the ‘heir apparent’ to Kelly, who was entering a contract year last offseason. Bortolini sat behind the veteran center last season, waiting in the wings—although he did see 5 starts in unplanned relief of Kelly during the 2024 campaign.

In his limited rookie action, Bortolini played 348 total snaps at center, and 3 at left guard respectively. Per PFF, he earned a +65.1 overall grade, which indicates he held his own out there.

The Colts drafted ‘Bort’ to be the long-term successor at starting center to Kelly, and from that standpoint, he should be the frontrunner for the job to begin with.

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The Challenger: Danny Pinter

Among pleasant surprises for the Colts this past season, the former 2020 5th round pick of Indianapolis, Danny Pinter, had to be one of them.

Many fans may remember Pinter significantly struggling at right guard to start the 2022 season, replacing departed longtime veteran Mark Glowinski at that spot, before being benched.

Simply put, Pinter lacked the true size and playing strength to consistently play NFL guard.

After missing the 2023 season because of a season-ending broken ankle suffered in preseason, Pinter largely became an afterthought entering this past year.

While he was considered returning backup interior depth, he wasn’t expected to play with the first-team offense at all, as he was behind both Kelly and Bortolini at center, and both Will Fries and rookie Matt Goncalves at right guard respectively.

Still, the former local Ball State standout made the most of a surprising in-season opportunity because of injuries—as with both Kelly and Bortolini out at center, Pinter ended up starting 2 games in limited relief in the middle of the Indy offensive line.

Per PFF, Pinter recorded a +68.6 overall grade.

With Kelly gone, the Colts re-signed him to a 1-year, $1.668M contract earlier this offseason.

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Verdict – Tanor Bortolini

This may be one of the more closer starting competitions in my mind, as I thought Pinter played pretty well when called upon last season—albeit in very limited action as a starter. That being said, the Colts have to be hoping that Bortolini ends up being the guy here and are going to be giving him the keys to the car at first. It will only be in the event that he falters, that Pinter potentially factors into the starting picture again. I don’t think he will, and athletically and from a strength standpoint, he offers more of an impact than Pinter.