The Indianapolis Colts took care of some business before the offseason began by locking up tight end Jack Doyle to a three-year contract extension and head coach Frank Reich couldn’t be happier about it.
A reliable and trustworthy both on the field and in the locker room, Doyle has been a quiet centerpiece of the offense. Running the offense, Reich understands just what Doyle means to the unit.
“Yeah, it didn’t take long to realize how good of a player, leader – everything. I mean Jack (Doyle) is really the consummate pro in every way,” Reich said Thursday. “He works hard. He is a great teammate, great player and (has) great production. So I was really happy that Chris (Ballard) was able to get that done.”
Even after the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts were hoping the tight end room would be able to sustain a level of strong production. However, Eric Ebron didn’t find the same production or the same role as he did in 2018.
That said, Doyle continued to carry the offense from the tight end position. An elite blocker and an underrated pass catcher, Doyle quickly caught the eye of Reich when the latter first took the job with the Colts.
“You think maybe he is limited in the passing role because he doesn’t have ‘elite speed.’ I found out pretty fast that this guy is – when he had an 80-catch season before we got here, there was no accident to that,” said Reich. “That wasn’t just because Andrew (Luck) liked to throw him the ball. He is a very good receiver. I mean he is such an instinctive route runner. He understands everything about the game.”
The Colts have plenty of moves to make this offseason, but they already accomplished one in locking up Doyle for the next three seasons.