Colts Need New Starting Right Tackle As Braden Smith Departs
- Veteran RT Braden Smith agrees to 2-year deal with Texans, ending his tenure with Colts.
- Colts likely to turn to 2nd-year Jalen Travis to fill the right tackle position.
- Colts have seen 3 players depart in free agency, including Kwity Paye and Neville Gallimore.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts are trying to successful pass the torch again on the offensive line.
On Tuesday afternoon, veteran right tackle Braden Smith agreed to a two-year deal with the Houston Texans.
This expected departure of Smith means the Colts will likely turn to second-year man Jalen Travis to occupy the right tackle job. Smith has held that position since the early parts of his 2018 rookie season.
In 2026, Travis actually started the final 4 games, 3 at right tackle and 1 at left tackle, with Smith sidelined due to a neck/concussion.
The 6-8, 340-pounder Travis was thought to be a bit of a developmental guy with the Colts drafting him in the 4th round last April. Travis, who hails from a family of athletes, spent his first 3 college years playing at Princeton, before transferring to Iowa State for his final year of college.
When the pick of Travis was made, the thought was this sort of scenario could occur some 10 months later.
Smith, who turns 30 later this month, has been a really quality right tackle for the Colts.
But giving him a third contract was likely too rich for the Colts, as they aspire to re-sign their starting quarterback (Daniel Jones), top wideout (Alec Pierce) and make changes to their defensive front this offseason.
That’s where the Colts will again try to tap into Chris Ballard’s very solid track record when it comes to drafting offensive linemen.
A passing of the torch approach up front seemed to work last offseason in letting Ryan Kelly (center) and Will Fries (right guard) both walk for bigger contracts in free agency. The Colts filled those voids with a former 4th round pick in Tanor Bortolini at center and a former 3rd rounder in Matt Goncalves at right guard.
The new young starters showed some nice early signs.
And that’s the belief with Travis, who filled in adequately for a rookie to close last season.
A projected starting offensive line in 2026 is as followed: LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Tanor Bortolini, RG-Matt Goncalves, RT-Jalen Travis.
While the Colts have other more pressing starting needs, an offensive tackle depth piece at some point this offseason is probably a smart investment.
So far, the Colts have seen 3 players depart in free agency: Braden Smith (Texans), Kwity Paye (Raiders) and Nevllie Gallimore (Bears).
