Anthony Castonzo Agrees to Extension with Colts

The Indianapolis Colts jettisoned their projected starting right tackle, Gosder Cherilus, but have secured their other booked Anthony Costanzo for the foreseeable future, per the team. 

General manager Ryan Grigson provided his thoughts on the deal:

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“Left tackles like Anthony Castonzo are hard to come by. He’s a team first guy that works as hard at his craft as anyone I have ever been around regardless of position. His desire to be great literally consumes him and he is a shining example of the sacrifice it truly takes every single day to be at the top of his game come Sunday. From ownership on down we are all extremely happy that AC will be wearing the horseshoe for many years to come. ”

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the two sides were "finalizing" a contract extension worth $42 million over four years, adding Castonzo would receive $35 million over the first three years of the deal.

Having consistency on the left side is vital to keeping Andrew Luck upright, but it'll be interesting to see how high the Colts are willing to go in negotiations. Pro Football Focus' grading system ranked Castonzo 12th among offensive tackles, but 10 of the players ranked ahead of him play primarily at the left side.

There's little question that Castonzo is among the NFL's best tackles overall.

The Colts likely released Cherilus now so his cap surcharge would go onto 2015 rather than 2016, when the big-money deals would start kicking in. Castonzo should be the first of many big-time moves in Indy.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.