Colts, Anthony Castonzo working on contract extension

ANDERSON — On Friday night, amidst a sea of 45,000 screaming fans at Lucas Oil Stadium, Anthony Castonzo got called out for being "the tall guy." That's how One Direction singer Harry Styles put it.

You. Over there. The tall guy.

Did he have any idea who he was calling out?

"Not a clue. No idea," said Castonzo.

The irony: Castonzo happens to hold a very important job in this city – he's the guy tasked with protecting Andrew Luck's blind side — and he does his work in the very stadium One Direction was performing. He's the Indianapolis Colts' starting left tackle, the one constant on a perpetually inconsistent offensive line. It's his job to protect one of the city's most valuable assets — Luck's golden right arm.

Which is why the Colts are determined to keep him around for a while. Castonzo confirmed Monday he and his agent are in discussions with the team on a long-term contract extension that will keep him in Indianapolis long past this coming season, which happens to be the last of his rookie deal.

"If you play well, you get taken care of, that's sort of the way I see it," Castonzo said Monday morning after a walkthrough on Day 2 of the team's training camp.

He'd love for the deal to get done before the season, but said he won't worry if he plays this fall without an extension. He says he intends on staying in Indianapolis. The top reason?

"We've got a great team," he said.

He's coming off his best season in the NFL: A league-high 1,400 snaps and just two sacks allowed on Luck. He'll earn $7.4 million this year, his fifth in the NFL, and will likely seek an annual salary in the neighborhood of $8-10 million, which ranks him just below the league's highest-paid left tackles.

"If I was playing like garbage, I wouldn't be here," he said.

Consistency, and dependability, have become Castonzo's hallmark in Indianapolis. He hopes it's that way for a long, long time.

"I like to think I'm always available," he said. "I take a lot of pride in that. I spent a of time in the offseason doing stuff that's not just going to improve me as a player, but keep me healthy."

That's all he's done since arriving in Indianapolis in 2011. Now it's time for the Colts to show him how much he's worth.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.