The Indianapolis Colts inked right tackle Braden Smith to a long-term deal on Wednesday that will keep him tied to the team through the 2025 season.
While getting the bag is certainly a big perk of the contract extension, Smith simply felt relieved that it got done. Knowing his future is secure financially, the Auburn product can go out on the field and give the Colts what he’s been giving since he entered the league, which is high-end play on the edge of the offensive line.
Another aspect that Smith was relieved about is the fact that the contract extension won’t become a distraction throughout the season, which is why he told his agent he wanted the deal done before Week 1 arrived.
“I did. I mean I didn’t want to become a distraction during camp,” Smith said Wednesday of his contract extension. “I just wanted to be able to focus on football and just come out here every day and just work.”
Smith has quietly been one of the best players on the team since he arrived in 2018 as a second-round pick. Though the Colts initially drafted him as a guard, they believed he had the chance to transition to right tackle.
The opportunity presented itself in Week 5 of his rookie season when Smith was essentially forced into a starting role at right tackle during a Thursday night game against the New England Patriots. The short-handed Colts got battered in Foxboro, but the team found its right tackle.
“It’s definitely kind of crazy. I was just talking to Q (Quenton Nelson) not too long ago – I was talking to him about how I did three two-minute drills in a row when I was a rookie and how that was when I used to play guard,” Smith said. “It is kind of crazy looking back just how the change has come about.”
With Smith now locked up, the Colts will focus their attention on some of the other big extensions coming their way. Linebacker Darius Leonard is likely next to come on a deal that is expected to be worth more than $19 million annually. Running back Nyheim Hines is also an extension candidate, but his deal should be much cheaper.
The Colts have time to get a deal done with left guard Quenton Nelson after they exercised his fifth-year option, keeping him under contract through the 2022 season.
Smith doesn’t have any outlandish purchases coming in his near future, though he may pay a premium to get some blisters fixed.
“Who knows man. I’ll probably just get something for these blisters on the back of my feet first,” Smith said.
A key cog on the offensive line is now under contract for the Colts, and the expectation is that Smith will be spending the majority of his career wearing the horseshoe.
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