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It was a move that was expected by many, but has now been made official. On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Colts announced that they had exercised the fifth-year option on offensive guard Quenton Nelson’s contract. The New Jersey native has been a perennial All-Pro player in his first few seasons in the league, and has made a major impact on Indy’s offensive front from Day 1.
Nelson was drafted by the Colts with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He was named a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season, and earned those honors again in his second and third seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, Nelson has allowed just three sacks on 1,946 pass-blocking snaps. He also has the highest PFF Grade (90.8) since entering the league.
“Quenton, he is a generational player that — I’m sorry, I see (John) Hannah and I see him of the last hundred years. I mean that’s how good Quenton is,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said earlier this year, via the Colts official website. “As far as leadership and the type of team guy he is, it’s off the charts. He is why the Colts are a physical team. When you’re coming to play us, you are coming to play the Big-Q and he is the guy that represents us out there and everyone on this roster knows. He is the alpha male holding it down now. That is a tough guy.
“His talents are just remarkable. If he stays healthy, he may be 14 All-Pro years in a row.”
According to Spotrac, in 2021 Nelson will earn a base salary of $920,000 and a roster bonus of $2.9 million while carrying a cap hit of $7.7 million. Nelson’s base salary for 2022 (the fifth year) is set to be $13.7 million.