The Colts announced that they have placed defensive end/linebacker Trent Cole on injured reserve. It’s not immediately clear why Cole is being shut down, but he has been dealing with a back injury early on this season. 
Cole, 33, signed a two-year, $14MM contract with the Colts in March of 2015. In his first year in blue and white, Cole didn’t have the kind of impact the team was hoping for. While his Pro Football Focus grade was respectable – he placed 34th out of 110 edge defenders – Cole recorded just three sacks, matching a career low. This offseason, he accepted a significant pay cut that trimmed his cap hit for 2016 from $7.125MM to $4.875MM.
During his ten years in Philadelphia, Cole played 155 games (145 starts), racking up 85.5 sacks, 569 tackles, and 19 forced fumbles. But, after posting six consecutive seasons with eight or more sacks from 2006 to 2011, Cole’s production fell off starting in 2012. Cole hopes to get back to his old form, but he’ll have to get healthy first and that likely won’t happen until 2017. Soon to be 34, Cole will be a free agent in the spring.
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