Colts lose a longtime starter to one of their AFC South rivals during free agency, which opens the door for a young player
Colts are going to have to play one of their key longtime starters twice a year going forward after he joined a divisonal rival.
The Indianapolis Colts are experiencing some significant roster changes this offseason.
They have already traded away wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and linebacker Zaire Franklin, as well as seeing starter Kwity Paye leave in free agency to join the Las Vegas Raiders. And now they have a fourth starter from 2024 leaving the team, and in fact, it’s a player who has been a Colts starter since 2018.
Colts longtime right tackle Braden Smith is leaving the Colts, but will see the team on the field twice a year going forward. As the tackle has signed with the Colts’ AFC South rivals, the Houston Texans.
Colts 8-year starter Braden Smith signs with the Texans
The Colts selected Smith in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Auburn. The interesting part of that story is he was a guard in college, and the Colts elected to kick him out to tackle right away, and he started 13 games as a rookie and has started 105 total games over the last eight years.
Smith has been an underrated member of the Colts offensive line due to him being overshadowed by some bigger stars such as Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Anthony Castanzo. In my opinion, though, Smith was the second most consistent member of the Colts’ offensive line during his time in Indianapolis, only behind Nelson.
I’m sure seeing him join an AFC South rival is a tough pill to swallow for fans, but I do think the Colts went into the offseason expecting the two sides to split. The team really liked what they saw from Jalen Travis when he got the chance to play during his rookie season, and now the door is open for Travis to take over as the full-time starter.
The Colts have embraced the youth movement as of late on their offensive line, and next year they will have three players on rookie deals with right tackle Travis, right guard Matt Goncalves, and center Tanor Bortolini paired with left guard Quenton Nelson and left tackle Bernhard Raimann, who are both highly paid.
On top of Smith turning 30 later this month, his injuries in recent years likely played a factor in the Colts being comfortable letting him walk. He’s only played 15 or more games three times in his career, most recently in 2022. The hope for the Colts will be that they get a bit more stability with Travis and give them a higher chance of seeing their day one starter group play a near full season together.
Indianapolis Colts News
Colts 2026 free agency live tracker: Following every addition and in-house departure during the make or break offseason
Tracking every move the Colts make during the NFL’s legal tampering period and free agency during the 2026 offseason.
