Tag: Will Fries

Giants named potential landing spot for guard Will Fries

Pro Football Focus has named the New York Giants a potential landing spot for impending free agent guard Will Fries.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen has vowed to fix and build the team’s offensive line into one of the league’s best. Through three offseasons, he’s made major changes but the line continues to tread water.

Injuries have had a lot to do with that along with several players underperforming and slow to develop.

With over $50 million in available salary cap space to operate with, Schoen is expected to keep plugging away at the line, using every avenue available to him to finally get this unit right.

Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus believes the Giants could be interested in Indianapolis Colts guard Will Fries in free agency next month.

Fries has steadily improved over his four seasons in Indianapolis, earning a higher PFF overall grade each year. Though an injury cut his 2024 season short, he showed significant progress early on. Over the first five weeks, his 86.9 PFF overall grade would have ranked third among guards if he had played enough snaps to qualify, while his 84.9 PFF run-blocking grade was among the best at the position.

Fries, a Staten Island native who played his college ball at Penn State, was a seventh-round draft pick of the Colts back in 2021 and has played in 37 NFL games, starting 27.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Fries started every game in 2023 but was limited to five games last season after suffering a fractured right tibia in Week 5.

Buday sees Fries as a fit for the Giants with left tackle Andrew Thomas returning from injury and center John Michael Schmitz settling in as the anchor.

But Buday also pointed out that Evan Neal showed “promise” at right tackle, which many of us closer to the team know is a fallacy. The Giants are actually on the verge of possibly moving Neal to guard as his development has stagnated the past year.

Buday is also forgetting the Giants’ commitment to the two free agent guards they signed last March (Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr.) and second-year guard Jake Kubas, who they are high on.

It would appear that Schoen would more likely explore tackle options this offseason with Thomas losing back-to-back seasons to injuries and Neal still struggling in his role.

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Texans dubbed the best landing spot for free agent OL Will Fries

Will Fries could be headed to the Houston Texans in 2025 if the two sides can agree to a deal.

The Houston Texans need an offensive line overhaul entering 2025.

Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Will Fries is scheduled to become a free agent in March and  Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron has dubbed the Texans as the top landing spot for the multi-purpose interior player heading into the 2025 season.

“Houston’s porous interior blocking proved to be a weakness the team struggled to overcome all year, and it ultimately sent the Texans packing from the playoffs,” Cameron wrote. “They surrendered the most interior sacks (24) in the NFL this season and will undoubtedly be looking to address that.”

Fries has transformed into a solid starter since being drafted in the seventh round by Indianapolis out of Penn State in 2021. Last season, he posted an 86.9 Pro Football Focus, which was fourth-highest among interior linemen.

He’s also been a model of consistency. Since being drafted, Fries received a 75.6 PFF overall grade or better in four years with the program.

“The Texans won’t be flush with cap space to spend on free agents this offseason,” Mason wrote. “Fries, however, would be a match for this team, following his positive showing before going down in Week 5 with a serious leg fracture.”

The Texans are expected to address the guard position in both free agency and the draft. Houston is also expected to free up cap space by cutting several players, which potentially includes offensive lineman Shaq Mason and defensive lineman Denico Autry.

NFL insider with free agency update on Colts OL Will Fries

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler provided a free agency update on Colts’ offensive lineman Will Fries.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen put together his list of the top 50 free agents this offseason and included was Indianapolis Colts’ right guard Will Fries.

Along with Fries being apart of this list, ESPN’s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler provided some insight into Fries’ recovery from the tibia injury along with what his free agent market might look like:

“Fries expects to be fully cleared by the beginning of free agency, and he’ll attract serious interest,” wrote Fowler.

Fries’ 2024 season was cut short after suffering a season-ending tibia injury in the Colts’ Week 5 matchup with Jacksonville.

However, before that, he was operating as one of the best guards in football. According to PFF’s grading system, through five games, Fries ranked fourth among all guards as a run-blocker and 10th in pass protection, allowing just six pressures.

“He might lack high-end traits, but the tape tells us he can upgrade the interior of an offensive front,” wrote Bowen. “He has a fundamentally sound play style, the lower-body mobility to handle power rushers and an ability to sustain blocks on contact.”

It’s not easy finding quality offensive linemen, which is why as we saw last offseason, the guard market in free agency really took off.

Fries, thanks to his play, could now benefit from that this offseason. PFF recently projected that he will earn a four-year $57.25 million deal on the open market.

The Colts currently have $28.4 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap, which ranks as the 18th most. They do, however, have the ability to create a lot more room if needed.

If Fries ends up playing elsewhere in 2025, the Colts would have a big hole to fill at right guard. Danny Pinter and Mark Glowinski–neither of whom are long-term answers–are both free agents as well.

Indianapolis Colts place RG Will Fries in injured reserve

The Indianapolis Colts announced that RG Will Fries has been placed on injured reserve following an injury in the Jaguars game.

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Monday that they’ve placed right guard Will Fries on injured reserve.

Fries suffered a tibia injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday that required him to stay overnight at a local hospital to get surgery.

After a strong 2023 season, Fries had taken a step forward in 2024. According to PFF’s metrics, Fries has surrendered just five pressures this season and only one sack, ranking 21st out of 70 guards in pass-blocking efficiency.

In the run game, Fries ranked fifth among all guards in PFF’s run-blocking grade.

A 2021 seventh-round selection by the Indianapolis Colts, Fries was in a contract year this season and will be a free agent this upcoming offseason.

Without Fries, the Colts called upon undrafted rookie Dalton Tucker to fill in at right guard.

In addition to placing Fries on injured reserve, the Colts also announced that they waived cornerback Dallis Flowers. Following these two moves, the Colts now have two openings on the 53-man roster that will have to be filled.

Despite the ups and downs that the Colts have experienced on offense this season, Fries, along with the rest of the offensive line, have helped provide stability as one of the top units through the first five games.

ESPN and PFF think highly of Colts OL Will Fries’ Week 1 play

Both ESPN and PFF thought very highly of the play of Colts’ interior offensive lineman Will Fries coming out of Week 1.

Basically, go and pick just about any offensive line metric from either ESPN or Pro Football Focus, and there’s a high probability that Colts’ offensive lineman Will Fries ranks extremely well.

Let’s start with PFF. By their metrics, in pass protection, Fries surrendered just one pressure in 25 pass-blocking snaps. His run-blocking grade of 91.7 was the highest among all guards during Week 1.

As a result of that, Fries made PFF’s team of the week.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1833535240427712912

Now, for a look at ESPN. By their pass-block win rate metric, Fries won 100 percent of his 15 pass-blocking snaps–as did Ryan Kelly and Quenton Nelson.

However, where Fries separated himself from those two was that he also ranked fourth among guards in ESPN’s run-block win rate metric, winning 17 of his 19 run-blocking snaps.

Collectively, as an offensive line unit, Anthony Richardson was under pressure on only six of his 24 dropbacks. But where the Colts’ offensive line as a whole were unable to gain traction was in the run game, with Jonathan Taylor totaling just 48 yards on 16 carries.

With offensive line play, it’s very much the sum of the parts is far greater than the individual. So as a group heading into Week 2, the Colts will need to create more push and running lanes for Taylor.

But with that said, if Fries can take a step forward from where he was last year, that level of play coupled with Kelly and Nelson along the interior will form quite the trio.

Colts’ training camp roster preview: OL Will Fries

Next up in our Colts’ training camp roster preview is OL Will Fries. Here is a look back at 2023 for Fries and what’s ahead in 2024.

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 Will Fries. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

Fries was a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2021 and after seeing 642 snaps during the 2022 season, he was the Week 1 starter at right guard this past year.

On the season, Fries would allow four sacks and 30 pressures. Among 82 eligible guards, Fries would rank in the top half of the league in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric at 28th and in run-blocking grade at 38th overall.

“Thought I played some good ball, played against some good players,” Fries said via the Indy Star. “It really told me a lot about what I need to focus on coming into this year, where my deficiencies were and where I could get better.”

As did the rest of the Colts offensive line, which as a unit finished top 10 in yards per carry and pressure rate, Fries benefitted from working with first year offensive line coach Tony Sparano and playing in Shane Steichen’s offense, helping him take a big developmental step forward this past year.

“I think it starts with strength, improving my overall strength level, putting a lot of time in the weight room and getting stronger, and then have a little more mobility,” Fries said. “Those two things helped me a lot.”

Brandon Thorn from “Establish the Run,” and one of the best analysts when it comes to evaluating offensive line play, would call Fries a “legit good starter” when highlighting his play from 2023.

2024 Season Preview

The Colts added some competition at guard during the draft, selecting Tanor Bortolini, who the team believes can play all three interior positions, as well as Matt Goncalves, who played tackle in college but the Colts see him as someone who can play inside as well.

However, this starting right guard position still belongs to Fries. Obviously, things can change, but the additions of Bortolini and Goncalves were likely more so made with the future in mind, as Fries is currently set to be free agents in 2025.

Fries will be entering his fourth season with the team and third where he’s seeing significant playing time. The next step for him is to continue developing, specifically remaining consistent from week-to-week.

“It’s no secret,” center Ryan Kelly said via the Indy Star. “He’s put the work in. … He’s a very detail-oriented guy who works his tail off during the offseason, during the season, to get better.”

ESPN picks right guard as Colts biggest remaining roster hole

ESPN recently picked the biggest remaining roster hole for each NFL team, and for the Colts, right guard was chosen.

With the NFL draft in the rearview mirror, Aaron Schatz of ESPN named right guard as the biggest remaining roster hole for the Indianapolis Colts.

Schatz does mention that at this stage of the offseason, a roster hole doesn’t mean a position without a clear starter but rather where “depth is sketchy,” as he put it.

Here is what Schatz had to say about the Colts’ right guard situation:

“The Colts have an interesting roster in which a lack of holes is balanced by a lack of stars. There are a lot of players here who rate as B-minus starters, rather than clear holes that need to be upgraded. The weakest position might be right guard with Will Fries, but Fries was only slightly below average in ESPN’s pass block win rate last season (91%) and was average among guards in run block win rate (70.3%). If Indianapolis wants to go with something new at the position, it has fourth-round rookie Tanor Bortolini, who started games at all three interior line spots at Wisconsin.”

Even in Schatz’s explanation, right guard isn’t a major hole for the Colts by any means. Fries, a 2021 seventh-round pick, surrendered four sacks and 20 pressures in 2023. By pass-blocking efficiency and PFF’s run-blocking grade, Fries ranked in the top half of the NFL among eligible guards in both those categories.

The Colts drafting Tanor Bortolini, as well as Matt Goncalves, who they believe can play inside, bolsters the depth and competition for the 2024 season, but I still fully expect Fries to be the Week 1 starter.

Also in the mix for roster spots along the interior offensive line will be Josh Sills and Danny Pinter.

With that said, where things do come into question for Fries is next offseason when he is a free agent. At that point, Bortolini or Goncalves could be the starting right guard.

Lastly, I do have to say that I was a bit surprised to see right guard chosen and not cornerback or safety. This was a young Colts’ secondary last season that gave up too many big plays and didn’t make enough plays on the ball.

Re-signing Kenny Moore and Julian Blackmon certainly helps, but the two boundary spots and the free safety role are up for grabs, and right now, the Colts are banking on their young players at those two positions to take a big step forward.

Will Fries and Rodney Thomas among highest earners in performance pay distributions

Colts’ Will Fries and Rodney Thomas were among the highest earners from 2023 in performance pay distribution. Here is what you need to know.

Guard Will Fries and safety Rodney Thomas ranked in the top 25 of all NFL players from the 2023 season in performance based pay distributions.

Fries received $810,961, the 12-highest pay out, and Thomas received $769,445, the 18th-most.

In short, performance based pay distributions began with the 2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement and created a fund to pay additional dollars to players playing on a smaller deal but who also saw extensive playing time.

For the 2023 season, that pool of money totaled $393.8 million and is distributed equally among the 32 teams.

Every player who sees playing time is eligible for this program, but salary and playing time are the two key factors in determining who gets an actual payout. You can read more about how pay is determined here, but in short, a lower salary coupled with a high amount of snaps means more opportunity for a player to collect from this program.

Fries would play 1,125 snaps at right guard for the Colts last season. According to PFF, he would allow four sacks and 30 pressures. He would rank 20th among all guards in pass-blocking efficiency and 30th out of 54 guards in run-blocking grade.

As a collective offensive line unit, the Colts ranked sixth in pass-blocking efficiency and 10th in yards per rush with 4.3.

Thomas would play 962 defensive snaps for the Colts in 2023, with the bulk of them coming at free safety. Overall, he made 33 of his 43 tackle attempts and held opponents to 12 receptions on 20 targets but did surrender over 21 yards per catch. Thomas would come away with two interceptions and two pass breakups.

Presumably, Thomas will be competing this summer with Nick Cross for the starting free safety role. The safety position remains a big need that the Colts still have to address as they look to cut down on the number of explosive plays allowed.

These performance based distribution payments to the players do not count towards the Colts’ salary cap and are instead considered a benefit.

PFF ranks Colts offensive line among elite units

The Colts offensive line is back to being elite.

The Indianapolis Colts offensive line seems to have found its identity as a bullying unit once again, and Pro Football Focus placed them among the elites in their latest ranking.

Finalizing the offensive line rankings from the 2023 season, the Colts came in at No. 3 at the end of the campaign. They slotted in right behind the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions while sitting just ahead of the Atlanta Falcons.

3. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Best lineup:
LT Bernhard Raimann
LG Quenton Nelson
C Ryan Kelly
RG Will Fries
RT Braden Smith

Injuries to center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith weakened this unit, but when the Colts played all five of their starting offensive linemen — like in the first half against the Texans in Week 18 — it was one of the best and most improved front fives in the NFL.

The Colts’ offensive line allowed just 15 sacks all season, the third fewest in the NFL.

Best player: Bernhard Raimann
Raimann was one of the breakout players of the 2023 NFL season, ranking fifth among left tackles in PFF overall grade (82.3).

After a few seasons of mediocre to poor play from the offensive line, the unit stepped it up big time during the first season under head coach Shane Steichen and new offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.

The latter deserves a lot of credit for turning the unit around from where they were just one year ago, and it helps that Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly found their forms as tone setters on the interior.

Though the starting unit only played a handful of games together due to injuries, they were stellar when they were on the field at the same time.

The breakout campaign from Bernhard Raimann proved the Colts may have a cornerstone piece at left tackle for the next handful of seasons while right tackle Braden Smith was a strong option despite an extensively injured season.

At right guard, Will Fries proved worthy of being a starting option. He may not have blown the doors off the opposition, but he certainly provided the Colts with enough value to be trusted upon at right guard.

Adding depth to the unit is the main priority considering the starting five will return in 2024 so there’s a solid chance they will be able to build upon the foundation they set in 2023.

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6 Colts who exceeded expectations in 2023

These Colts exceeded expectations in 2023.

The Indianapolis Colts were one win away from competing in the playoffs but instead find themselves sitting at home with the majority of the league preparing for the 2024 offseason.

Even though it was a decent surprise the Colts were in a position to compete for a playoff spot considering the amount of injuries along with the addition of a rookie head coach working with a backup quarterback, there were plenty of bright spots who helped get Indy to that position.

Here are six Colts who exceeded expectations during the 2023 season: