Tag: Tanor Bortolini

Colts’ rookie offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini will miss “some time” with a toe injury, according to head coach Shane Steichen.

The good news is that Bortolini’s toe injury isn’t to the same extent of Jelani Woods, who will reportedly undergo surgery. However, some time will be missed–although no specific timeline has been reported.

“I think he’ll be alright too,” said Steichen after Tuesday’s practice. “I don’t see him missing an extended amount of time but he’s going to miss some time.”

Bortolini exited the Colts’ preseason matchup with the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game and did not return.

After Danny Pinter worked at center with the second team offense against Denver, Bortolini got the “start” at center in Week 2 of the preseason with Ryan Kelly not playing.

In two preseason games, which have included 33 pass-blocking reps, Bortolini has surrendered only one pressure, per PFF.

As offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter highlighted recently, the jump from college to the NFL at the center position in particular can be a difficult transition to make, in large part because of all the responsibilities that come with this role.

Throughout training camp, Bortolini has made steady improvement, which we saw in the second preseason contest with him starting over Pinter.

“We ask a lot of those guys communication-wise,” Cooter said, “with our guys up front, with the quarterbacks, with everybody, making decisions about maybe how we’re going to block a certain scheme, how we’re going to pick up a certain blitz.

“We ask a ton of those guys and all we see out of Bort is him getting better and better and better every week, every day, every walkthrough. Cleaning up maybe something that wasn’t perfect the day before and getting that thing fixed for the next day.”

The general consensus seems to be that Bortolini will be Kelly’s backup, but the Colts could choose to roster Pinter as a backup option if they don’t feel Bortolini is ready. For what it’s worth, on the unofficial depth chart, the back center is listed as Bortolini OR Pinter.

Without a timeline it is unknown if Bortolini will be ready for Week 1, which will be 17 days away following the team’s preseason final against the Bengals.

The Colts announced in the fourth quarter of their preseason game with the Arizona Cardinals that center Tanor Bortolini would be questionable to return with a toe injury.

With the starters not playing for the Colts, Bortolini got the start at center. Last week, in the preseason opener against Denver, it was Danny Pinter who was first off the bench at center after Ryan Kelly.

In his debut in Week 1of the preseason, Bortolini didn’t allow any pressures in nine pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF.

Every rookie navigates a learning curve when making the jump from college to the NFL, but as offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter described recently, the transition at center can be a particularly tough one to make.

Bortolini, however, continues to steadily progress, with perhaps his playing time in this game evidence of that.

“We ask a lot of those guys communication-wise,” Cooter said, “with our guys up front, with the quarterbacks, with everybody, making decisions about maybe how we’re going to block a certain scheme, how we’re going to pick up a certain blitz.

“We ask a ton of those guys and all we see out of Bort is him getting better and better and better every week, every day, every walkthrough. Cleaning up maybe something that wasn’t perfect the day before and getting that thing fixed for the next day.”

Bortolini has the ability to play all three interior positions, but this summer, he is trying to lock down that backup center role behind Kelly.

At a difficult position to transition to, Colts’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter likes the steady progress he is seeing from rookie center Tanor Bortolini.

“We see him, you know, Wednesday is better than Tuesday,” said Cooter. “Thursday is better than Wednesday. He’s just got to keep that process going.

“That’s the rookie process for a lot of positions, but for the center position it’s vital just the mentality of being able to ID those fronts, make those calls, communicate with your buddies and with the guys behind you.”

The Colts selected Bortolini in the fourth round of this past April’s draft. At the NFL Combine in February, Bortolini was one of the standout participants, not only among the offensive line but out of all position groups.

Bortolini posted a near-perfect Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.79, which included a 4.94-second 40, along with elite vertical, broad jump, and agility testing.

On the field, Bortolini is someone the Colts believe can play all three interior offensive line positions. At Wisconsin, he played nearly 1,100 snaps at center and during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he surrendered just two sacks and 17 pressures.

“But for a rookie at the center position,” added Cooter, “you do have a lot going on. There’s these defensive looks, these backers are sliding, we’re motioning. They’re trying to figure out exactly where do we want this run play to go, how do we want to ID this thing. What exactly is this blitz that they keep bringing and how do I pick that thing up? He’s learning those lessons as we go.”

Due to the difficulty of the jump at center from college to the NFL, Bortolini hasn’t been handed the backup role behind Ryan Kelly. Instead, he’s seen time with the third team offense, as well as with the twos, while Danny Pinter and Wesley French–before being placed on IR– were handling the backup center snaps as well.

For what it’s worth, on the Colts’ unofficial depth chart, the backup center position was listed as Pinter or Bortolini or French.

“We ask a lot of those guys communication-wise,” Cooter said, “with our guys up front, with the quarterbacks, with everybody, making decisions about maybe how we’re going to block a certain scheme, how we’re going to pick up a certain blitz.

“We ask a ton of those guys and all we see out of Bort is him getting better and better and better every week, every day, every walkthrough. Cleaning up maybe something that wasn’t perfect the day before and getting that thing fixed for the next day.”

Kelly is entering the final year of his current deal and before training camp began, mentioned that extension talks hadn’t taken place.

How the Colts’ feel about the development of Bortolini at the center position over the next few months will play a role whether or not Kelly returns in 2025.

Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.

Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.

I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is interior offensive lineman Tanor Bortolini. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

A fourth-round selection by the Colts this past April, Bortolini spent the entire 2023 season at center for the Wisconsin Badgers. On the season, he would surrender just one sack and 11 pressures, ranking 28th out of 200 eligible centers in pass-blocking efficiency and was 70th by PFF’s run-blocking grade.

“Learning center was a really big thing for me,” said Bortolini. “If I learned center, I’m able to know what everyone has to do on every play. So that put me in a position to swing around like that.”

Two aspects of Bortolini’s game that the Colts really like are his versatility and athleticism. In addition to playing center in 2023, Bortolini played over 600 snaps at both guard spots and is someone the Colts believe can play all three interior positions at the NFL level.

At the NFL combine, Bortolini put together one of the more impressive performances of any prospect in attendance, posting an elite RAS of 9.79, including a 4.94-second 40-yard dash.

“You’re dressing 48 guys, eight linemen,” said GM Chris Ballard. “If you draft an offensive lineman, to just play one position, unless you’re the starter makes it very difficult. You need to have a guy that can play both tackle spots, a guy that can play both guard spots and swing. And really, two more guys that can snap the football.

“I think it’s the same thing in any position – you’ve got to have some versatility to be able to play multiple spots. We kind of try to do that as much as we can every year, but this year is a little unusual in that.”

2024 Season Preview

The Colts are returning all five starters from an offensive line unit that ranked tied for fifth in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric and 10th in yards per carry. So, in that regard, the offensive line is pretty well set, which would put Bortolini as a backup at either guard spot or center.

Now, in the name of generating competition, if there is one spot on the starting five that could be pushed for, perhaps it’s at right guard with Will Fries.

However, with Fries’ experience, he will certainly have a leg up in any sort of battle that may or may not take place, and he’s coming off a season where he ranked in the top half of all guards in pass-blocking efficiency and run-blocking grade. I would certainly expect Fries to be the starter.

As long as the offensive line is healthy, the addition of Bortolini was likely more of a long-term play for the Colts, with both Fries and Ryan Kelly set to be free agents in 2025.

“To me, with Wisconsin, you know you’re getting, smart, tough, reliable offensive lineman,” said Colts’ area scout Tyler Hughes. “He’s a guy that started at four different positions for them. (He) He played guard last year, then once (Joe) Tippman left, he bumped inside to center.

“The best thing about him, I’m sure you guys saw his personality, he’s outgoing, a jokester, but his nickname is ‘Badger,’ and that’s kind of the staple of their program. So when you get the nickname Badger, he represents the program extremely well and what we want in our locker room.”

Highlights

Chad Reuter of NFL.com put together his All-Rookie team on offense, selecting a rookie from each position group on that side of the ball who will make an immediate impact, which included the Colts’ fourth-round pick Tanor Bortolini at guard.

Reuter acknowledges that Bortolini may be the team’s long-term answer at center depending on Ryan Kelly’s future with him set to hit free agency next offseason, but believes Bortolini can make an early impact at right guard, taking over for Will Fries at some point.

“Don’t be surprised if he gives veteran Will Fries a battle for the right guard spot,” wrote Reuter. “Bortolini’s plus athleticism and toughness might get him on the field much sooner than many would expect from a fourth-round pick.”

Bortolini seriously impressed at the NFL Combine, posting a near-perfect Relative Athletic Score of 9.97, which included a 4.94-second 40-yard dash.

At the NFL level, Bortolini can play all three interior positions. During his final two years at Wisconsin, he surrendered just two sacks and 17 pressures. This past season specifically, he ranked 28th out of 200 eligible centers in pass-blocking efficiency and 70th in PFF’s run-blocking grade.

“To me, with Wisconsin, you know you’re getting, smart, tough, reliable offensive lineman,” said Colts’ area scout Tyler Hughes. “He’s a guy that started at four different positions for them. He played guard last year, then once (Joe) Tippman left, he bumped inside to center.

“The best thing about him, I’m sure you guys saw his personality, he’s outgoing, a jokester, but his nickname is ‘Badger,’ and that’s kind of the staple of their program. So when you get the nickname Badger, he represents the program extremely well and what we want in our locker room.”

Along the offensive line, the Colts are returning all five starters from last season, including Fries who played 1,125 snaps, a unit that ranked top 10 in pressure rate and yards per carry.

Fries would allow four sacks and 30 pressures. He would rank 28th out of 82 guards in pass-blocking efficiency and 38th in run-blocking grade.

Bortolini would really have to impress during training camp to overtake Fries for that starting spot. Until we see otherwise, I fully expect Fries to start come Week 1, but if the right guard spot does turn out to be up for grabs, I’m also not so sure we can exclude Matt Goncalves from the conversation, someone who the Colts believe can play inside.

If it were me putting together this All-Rookie team, I would have been much more willing to put Adonai Mitchell on this list over Bortolini. I know this is a loaded rookie receiver class that Mitchell will be competing against, but his path to making an impact is far more clear than what Bortolini’s is. Mitchell should be a factor right away.