Colts GM Chris Ballard told reporters that they fielded trade inquiries for C Ryan Kelly and CB Kenny Moore this offseason. However, it sounds like both will be back in Indianapolis for the 2023 season.
“We had some calls on them, but at the end of the day, they’re good football players for us,” Ballard said, via IndyStar.com. “And they’re good people. … When you’ve got a good football player that’s a great person and a good fit, it makes it hard to move away from those guys.”
“They’re here, and look, they’re both great Colts,” Ballard adde. “We’re glad they’re here.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported a few weeks ago that Kelly is believed to be available via trade
The veteran signed a deal that made him the highest-paid center in the NFL at one point, but his play regressed in 2022 along with the rest of the Colts’ offensive line.
Kelly, 29, is a former first-round pick by the Colts back in 2016 out of Alabama. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $10.45 million rookie contract and made a base salary of $1.4 million for the 2019 season.
The Colts picked up Kelly’s fifth-year option for the 2020 season which paid him a base salary of $10.35 million. He then signed a four-year, $50 million extension with Indianapolis.
Kelly is due base salaries of $9.125 million and $11.375 million over the final two years of that deal.
In 2022, Kelly appeared in all 17 games for the Colts, making 17 starts at center. Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 16 center out of 36 qualifying players.
Moore, 27, wound up signing on with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Valdosta State back in 2017. He signed a three-year, $1.66 million contract but was waived and later claimed off of waivers by the Colts.
Moore re-signed with the Colts on a four-year, $33 million extension in 2019. He’s set to make a base salary of $6.795 million for the 2023 season.
In 2022, Moore appeared in 12 games for the Colts and recorded 65 total tackles and one sack.
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