Veteran defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo will join the Colts. A Monday agreement, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter), will send the former Vikings starter to Indianapolis.
Odenigbo accumulated seven sacks as an off-the-bench edge rusher in 2019, when he played behind Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen, but could not match that production as a starter in 2020 (3.5 sacks). He will join a Colts defensive end stable now anchored by trade acquisition Yannick Ngakoue, who was briefly Odenigbo’s teammate in Minnesota.
Originally a Vikings seventh-round pick in 2017, Odenigbo first saw action with the Cardinals in 2018. The Northwestern alum made his way back to Big Ten country later in 2018, rejoining the Vikes and sticking around via reserve/futures contract. Odenigbo graduated off the futures-deal tier in 2019 and signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Giants in 2021. The Giants, however, cut him before the season began. That resulted in a Browns agreement — three years after a Cleveland practice squad stay — and a nine-game role as a backup.
The Colts lost D-end contributor Al-Quadin Muhammad this offseason, when the veteran followed Matt Eberflus to Chicago. Former second-round pick Kemoko Turay is also gone, having signed with the 49ers. Odenigbo stands to compete for a job behind Ngakoue and 2021 first-rounder Kwity Paye. He will join a cast of former second-round picks in doing so.
This stands to be 2021 second-rounder Dayo Odeyingbo‘s first fully healthy season, after an offseason injury delayed his debut last year. Indianapolis did not draft a defensive end but re-signed former second-rounder Tyquan Lewis this offseason and still has fellow ex-Round 2 pick Ben Banogu rostered.