Indianapolis Colts veteran left tackle Eric Fisher is likely to hit the free-agent market following his one season as the blindside protector for quarterback Carson Wentz.
Though there is still the slight chance the Colts re-sign Fisher for fear of not finding a better option this offseason, his inconsistencies as a pass protector could force Chris Ballard to let the former test the market.
Should that happen, Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic ranked Fisher at No. 30 in his list of the top-75 free agent in 2022.
30. Eric Fisher, OT, Indianapolis Colts (31)
I will repeat myself once again here: Left tackles get paid! Based purely on performance, Fisher should be nowhere near this spot. But supply and demand matter. Fisher was coming off of an Achilles injury last offseason and signed a one-year, $8.4 million deal with the Colts. He started 15 games and held up better as a run blocker than a pass blocker, where he allowed seven sacks and 11 quarterback hits. More half of the NFL’s left tackles (18 to be exact) are making at least $11 million per year. Charles Leno’s three-year, $37 million deal with Washington could be a good comp for Fisher.
It’s hard to argue with much of what Kapadia wrote here. The biggest issue for the Colts wasn’t necessarily whiffing on Fisher. It was that plus the fact that they had a chance at Charles Leno and still decided to go with the 30-year-old coming off of an Achilles tear.
But there’s nothing that can be done about that now. The Colts will be on the hunt for a new left tackle this offseason. A big splash shouldn’t be expected in free agency and it’s unlikely a trade-up in the 2022 NFL draft will happen given the lack of picks Chris Ballard has.
That means we could be looking more at a short-term solution in free agency while the team hopes they can find some value in the draft to potentially steal a long-term option.
The Colts have a lot of needs this offseason and with Fisher likely to hit the market, left tackle is near the top of the list.
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