Source: Todd Kirkland / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time in a while, the Colts have a potential free agent decision to make with their punter.
Rigoberto Sanchez returned from a torn Achilles this past season to punt in all 17 games.
Sanchez missed the entire 2022 campaign after he tore his Achilles while running sprints following a training camp practice at Grand Park.
While Sanchez had a rough opening game in his return last year, he ended up having a nice campaign.
The 6th year veteran set a career-high in net punting averaging (42.8 yards, including one block). Not a single one of his 68 punts resulted in a touchback.
It’s extremely rare to see a punter go through an entire season without having a single touchback, but Sanchez did that.
Along with his normal punting responsibility, Sanchez continued to handle holding duties, this time for new kicker Matt Gay.
Originally, Sanchez was a 2017 undrafted free agent of the Colts, filling the big shoes of Pat McAfee.
The Colts signed Sanchez to a 4-year, $11.6 million deal in the 2019 offseason, with that contract now complete.
Probably the only real reason to entertain moving on from Sanchez would be to pinch a few dollars, not give a punter a third contract, which would likely mean the Colts are continuing to pay top-10 punter money.
In 2023, Sanchez still punted as a top-half of the league guy, in his return from missing a year.
On the long list of notable Colts free agents in 2023, do not forget about taking care of Sanchez, or else the team will have to find a new answer there.
