INDIANAPOLIS – The texts he sends his general manager aren’t typical for a 24-year-old to be sending to a man who could fire him.
Granted, Quenton Nelson falls into the category of uncommon. And has some of the best job security of any NFL player.
That’s thanks to his play, with how he goes about being a teammate and the standard he holds everyone to, including his general manager.
“Quenton is a pretty rare competitor,” Chris Ballard says.
“He might be as good a teammate as I’ve ever been around in terms of care for other, wanting them to do well and then in his passion for the game.”
Appearing on the Off Script podcast with Lance Zierlein and Eric Ladin, Ballard shared a couple of anecdotes that speaks to Nelson, outside of being the best guard in football.
First, Ballard takes you back to Week Five of the 2019 season, with the Colts on the practice field preparing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
With Nelson getting ready to face one of the game’s best interior defensive linemen in Chris Jones, the All-Pro guard didn’t like the challenge he was receiving in practice.
“We have a bunch of injuries that week and we’ve got a small defensive end playing three technique on the scout team,” Ballard explains.
“(Nelson) comes sprinting by me, ‘What the (bleep) Ballard?! We are playing Chris Jones and you have a 230-pound defensive end (across from me)! How the hell am I supposed to get better!?’
“He sprints back. People’s eyes (are huge) because he’s yelling at me.”
Ballard’s reaction?
“I love when players give me crap. Boy, I love that. That’s great. That’s good stuff…That’s what you want. When they know they can be honest with you and they know that I’m not going to cut them, that’s a good thing.”
Late in Nelson’s rookie season, the Colts received news that the rookie guard had been selected to the Pro Bowl.
So, Frank Reich and Ballard called up Nelson to let him know the great news.
The conversation began like this:
Ballard and Reich: “Hey Quenton, congrats you made the Pro Bowl.”
Nelson: “What about Ryan Kelly? Did Ryan Kelly make the Pro Bowl? What about (Anthony) Castonzo?”
That’s Nelson, always deflecting individual attention and wanting to make sure his teammates receive the spotlight.
After two NFL seasons, Nelson has put together back-to-back Hall of Fame caliber seasons and chatter is growing around the league of if he’s the best player in all of football.
He hasn’t allowed a sack since the first month of his rookie season.
Whenever the Colts decide to hand Nelson his second contract either in 2021 or 2022, he should expect to receive the most lucrative deal ever for an offensive guard.
Taking Nelson at No. 6 overall in the 2018 Draft was a no brainer for the Colts, with many pegging him for Canton back then.
“He has lived up to those in every way, on and off the field,” Reich said earlier this offseason. “And his mentality is infectious. He’s a leader. He’s tough-minded. Who would ever thought we could be saying that about a guard?
“He’s really one of these generation players that we are very fortunate to have.”
