Colts' player named among best 2026 free agents by The Athletic
Daniel Popper of The Athletic is taking a very early look ahead to the 2026 offseason with his top 30 available free agents. On his list was one member of the Indianapolis Colts.
Coming in at No. 14 on Popper's rankings was left tackle Bernhard Raimann.
"Raimann is a lean left tackle, but he makes up for it with smooth feet and athleticism," wrote Popper. "He is sturdy in pass protection and can be a real weapon on the move in the run game. Raimann, who was born and raised in Vienna, Austria, and did not start playing football until he was 14, was drafted in the third round in 2022."
Raimann had a breakout year in 2023 and continued to build upon that performance in 2024. On the year, he would surrender just four sacks and 20 pressures over 471 pass-blocking snaps. Out of 83 eligible tackles last season, Raimann ranked 24th in pass-blocking efficiency.
In the run game, Raimann was 12th among tackles in PFF's run-blocking grade, with Jonathan Taylor would average nearly 5.0 yards per rush when running between Raimann and left guard Quenton Nelson.
'The progress that Berny has made from year one to now, it's been pretty incredible,' GM Chris Ballard said at the NFL Combine.
Raimann is currently extension-eligible. While we don't know when a new deal could take place, although Raimann right now is a projected top free agent next offseason, players of his caliber and at his position rarely get to the open market.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Colts' Shane Steichen on why he chose Daniel Jones over Anthony Richardson
Shane Steichen explained why he chose Daniel Jones over Anthony Richardson as the Colts' starting quarterback. Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen named Daniel Jones the team's starting quarterback for Week 1. So what ultimately led to this decision? As Steichen has said on multiple occasions this offseason, he was searching for the most consistent player at the position, and the evaluation encompassed all aspects of playing the quarterback position. "It was good to see them cheering for each other and battling the way they did," Steichen said. "You guys heard me talk about the consistency and that's really what I was looking for. Really the operation at the line of scrimmage, the checks, the protection, the ball placement, the completion percentage. All that played a factor in it. I think Daniel did a great job doing that, and I think AR has made strides in that area, but I do feel that he needs to continue to develop in those areas." According to Joel Erickson of the Indy Star, Steichen later added that Jones is the starting quarterback for the 2025 season. He doesn't want to have a "short leash on that." Jake Arthur of Horseshoe Huddle would add that Steichen mentioned that something not everyone sees with Jones is his work ethic and the way he connects with teammates. "Had a chance to talk to both of them this morning and they were both great," Steichen added. "AR was great. He knows that he still needs to develop and learn in those areas and he knows that he's one play away. We let the whole team know this morning. The team is very supportive of Daniel but also supportive of AR and his new role. He's gotta attack it the right way, and we'll go from there."
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Oh man, the Colts are really gonna start Daniel Jones in Week 1
Chris Ballard's job is on the line. The general manager of the Indianapolis Colts is in his ninth season as the architect behind the Colts' roster. He has a single playoff win to show for it. That leaves him with one of the hottest seats among NFL executives this fall. Anything short of a playoff berth could end Ballard's tenure in Indianapolis. After an 17-17 record the last two seasons, it's clear things need to change for the Colts to climb back to the top of the AFC South. The quarterback ready to bring that change under similarly embattled head coach Shane Steichen? Daniel by-God Jones. On one hand, this isn't a surprise. Jones seemed to have an inside edge throughout training camp when it came to working with the team's starters. Richardson has been an injury risk throughout his brief NFL career and missed 19 games the last two seasons. He made it five plays into the 2025 preseason before suffering a dislocated finger. When healthy, he's a high variance game-changer in ways that were more bad than good last fall and finished 2024 with a 47 percent completion rate. On the other hand, this is a surprise because it's Daniel Jones. The injury concerns that haunt Richardson? Jones missed 16 games between 2021 and 2023 due to neck and knee injuries. The performance issues that threaten to leave a deep offense stuck in neutral? Jones has thrown 10 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions in his last 16 games and was benched for Tommy DeVito -- Tommy DeVito! -- due in equal parts to poor play and concerns that an injury suffered late in a meaningless season could trigger $23 million in guarantees for 2025. Jones brings a higher floor to the Colts offense than Richardson. He has more playoff wins than Tua Tagovailoa thanks to the 2022 season that saw the New York Giants establish a run-heavy attack that asked Jones to throw the third-shortest average pass distance in the NFL. That worked until it didn't. When head coach Brian Daboll had to turn up the downfield throws as a weakened rushing game left his offense off-schedule Jones' interception rate rose from a league-best 1.1 percent in 2022 to 2.6 over the last two seasons. That means he's bringing a lower ceiling than Richardson, who plays football like someone dropped a jar of Superballs on a concrete floor. Richardson's offense was predicated on more downfield throws than anyone else in the league. His 12.2 yards per air target were nearly three full yards deeper than second-place Trevor Lawrence on the 2024 NFL leaderboard. When things go right, Richardson is capable of doing things maybe three or four of his peers can do on a given play. Richardson is a high variance quarterback. The Colts knew this when they made him the fourth overall pick after a stunning rise up draft boards in 2023. Starting Jones over him -- the steadier option in a way that hasn't mattered the last two seasons -- is a shrugging admission that Indianapolis' coaching staff can't fix him, even 2.5 years in to his Colts career. Jones got the Giants to the Divisional Round of the postseason with Saquon Barkley in the backfield. If he can get his new team to nine wins with Jonathan Taylor doing all the work in this group project, it could be enough to save Ballard and Steichen's jobs. This doesn't mean we've seen the last of Richardson. Jones has been shuffled out of the lineup due to injury and underwhelming play before. But his leash may be longer than expected because what he does well -- checking down for surefire gains and keeping his offense churning -- is so much different than what Richardson does well -- chucking a ball 70 yards off his back foot or putting his head down and trying to run through three linebackers at a time. Richardson is a glass engine, impressive and impractical, waiting to turn internal combustion into an external one. But he's undoubtedly got more to offer in a league that values gunslinging, mobile quarterbacks more than ever. The Colts, to their credit, at least have the awareness to say "hell, we can't figure him out either." While that's not an official statement, that's what you get when you name Daniel Jones QB1 over the guy you drafted fourth overall less than three years ago.
Associated Press
25 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Colts name Daniel Jones the opening-day starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Tuesday that he has selected Daniel Jones as his starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson. Steichen said the decision was based in part on consistency and accuracy and that Jones would be the starter for the season, noting that Richardson is just one play away from being needed. Jones reclaims the starting job he lost with the New York Giants last season. He asked for and was granted his release during the season, signed with the Minnesota Vikings and then joined the Colts as a free agent in the offseason. It's yet another setback for the 23-year-old Richardson, who has been beset by injuries during his first two NFL seasons. Richardson was the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023. The Colts face the Miami Dolphins in the Sept. 7 season opener. ___ AP NFL:
