Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard joined 1070 The Fan on Friday to discuss a litany of topics regarding the offseason and one of them was the status of veteran left tackle Anthony Castonzo.
Still awaiting the decision of whether he wants to retire or return to the Colts, Ballard knows the importance of the left tackle position. He also believes Castonzo has more than a couple of years left as a top-talent at the position.
“We know the importance. To me, left tackle is one of your core positions. And we think a lot of Anthony Castonzo,” Ballard told Dan Dakich on 1070 The Fan. “I do think Anthony is playing at a high level still. I think he’s got 3 or 4 more years of high-level play at left tackle.”
The play of the offensive line was extremely strong in 2019. Some would even call it elite. Much of the success has to be attributed to Castonzo’s performance anchoring the left side of the line.
There aren’t many left side duos that were better than Castonzo and Colts left guard Quenton Nelson, who enjoyed another All-Pro season. The combination on that side of the ball allowed the Colts to do many things rather than having to send help.
The Colts want Castonzo back. There is no denying that. Ballard makes sure to keep regular contact with the former first-round pick.
“Do we communicate? Yes, we do. Pretty regularly,” Ballard said. “But it’s not a begging situation where I’m begging him to play. Do we need him back? Yeah. We’d like to have him back.”
The Colts will have a big problem if Castonzo does decide to retire, but it is still a waiting game as the offseason progresses.