Today’s minor moves:
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: LB Jonathan Kongbo
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: RB Phillip Lindsay (story), DT Chris Williams
Indianapolis has made a couple headline moves, but, most notably, succeeded in trimming their roster down to 53 players today. Here are the moves that helped them get down to the limit today:
Activated from active/physically unable to perform:
Released:
- WR Keke Coutee
- T Dennis Kelly
- LB Brandon King
- RB Phillip Lindsay (story)
- DT R.J. McIntosh
- S Will Redmond
Waived:
- DT Curtis Brooks
- CB Anthony Chesley
- DE Kameron Cline
- QB Jack Coan
- DB Marcel Dabo
- WR Ethan Fernea
- WR DeMichael Harris
- TE Michael Jacobson
- TE Nikola Kalinic
- T Jordan Murray
- WR Samson Nacua
- RB D’Vonte Price
- LB Forrest Rhyne
- G Josh Seltzner
- LB James Skalski
- CB Marvell Tell III
- T Ryan Van Demark
- LB Sterling Weatherford
- CB Chris Wilcox
- DT Chris Williams
- RB Ty’Son Williams
Placed on IR:
The biggest stories of the day for the Colts come in the linebacking corps. In addition to adding star linebacker Leonard off the PUP, Indianapolis acquired second-year player Grant Stuard in a trade with Tampa Bay today. Stuard was primarily a special teamer with the Buccaneers last year, playing in every game as a rookie. He’ll go from one stacked linebacker room to another, likely backing up Leonard upon his arrival.
The Colts have quite an interesting rookie class. A sixth-round defensive tackle, Brooks is the only drafted rookie not to make the final roster besides sixth-round tight end Andrew Ogletree who will start his NFL career on injured reserve. None of this is spectacular, though. The interesting part is that Indianapolis will roster four undrafted rookies to start the 2022 NFL season.
Former SMU safety Trevor Denbow finds his way onto the initial 53 after leading the NFL this preseason with five special teams tackles. Cornerback Dallis Flowers can also thank his special teams value as his athleticism was supplemented by a 53-yard kickoff return to help him make the team out of Pitt State. Former Cornhusker JoJo Domann joins Leonard and Stuard in the linebackers room. And the French-Fries offensive line combination stays alive as Wesley French makes the final roster out of Western Michigan.
There were a number of other players who have special teams’ ability to thank for their roster spot in addition to Denbow and Flowers. Running back Deon Jackson played on all punt/kick return/coverage units for the Colts last year, earning him a tightly contested roster spot over Lindsay and Williams. Cornerback Tony Brown was the team’s highest-graded special teams player in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, and safety Rodney Thomas II played the third-most special teams snaps on the team.
Finally, the biggest performer of the Colts’ preseason was likely quarterback Sam Ehlinger whose stellar preseason led Indianapolis to roster three quarterbacks going into the season. The former-Longhorn’s impressive preseason play helped him earn a spot on the initial roster despite the Colts already rostering starter Matt Ryan and one of the league’s top backup quarterbacks in Nick Foles.
The Colts will have the opportunity tomorrow to announce any moves to form their 16-man practice squad. Players cut today who have not vested will have to clear waivers before returning to the team.
With the Colts focused on a potential postseason run, they’ll be welcoming back a member of their offense. The team announced today that they’ve activated wideout Parris Campbell from injured reserve. The team has also promoted cornerback Anthony Chesley, safety Will Redmond, and defensive tackle Chris Williams from the practice squad.
A former second-round pick, Campbell has spent most of this season rehabbing from foot surgery. The Colts’ would-be slot receiver sustained the injury in Week 6, but it looks like he could meet the rehab timetable initially provided. Before that point of the season, the 24-year-old had appeared in five games (three starts), hauling in 10 receptions for 162 yards and one touchdown.
Campbell missed nine games as a rookie and was absent for 14 last season. He suffered a knee injury in September 2020 that knocked him out of his sophomore NFL campaign. While Campbell recovered from that PCL issue this offseason, he has missed nine more games due to the foot problem. The good news is that Campbell will have a healthy offseason for the first time in a while (assuming he makes it through the rest of the year unscathed).
Redmond, 28, joined the Colts in mid-December. He’s seen time in two games for Indy, with all 22 of his snaps coming on special teams. Chesley, a former undrafted free agent out of Coastal Carolina, has seen time in eight games for the Colts this season, collecting three tackles and one fumble recovery. Williams went undrafted out of Wagner in 2020 and has spent the past two years with the Colts organization, collecting two tackles in seven games this season.
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: FB Nick Ralston
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Chris Williams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL John Molchon
- Released: WR Travis Jonsen
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Promoted: P Ryan Winslow
- Placed on IR: WR Brandon Zylstra
Chicago Bears
- Placed on IR: S Deon Bush
- Promoted: S Teez Tabor
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived: FB Nick Ralston
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Curtis Robinson, LB Barrington Wade
- Placed on IR: LB Andre Mintze
- Waived: WR David Moore
Houston Texans
- Signed off Raiders practice squad: OL Jimmy Morrissey
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted: K Michael Badgley, NT Antwaun Woods
- Waived: QB Jacob Eason, DT Chris Williams
- Activated from IR: QB Sam Ehlinger
- Placed on IR: WR Parris Campbell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: OL Rashaad Coward
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: CB Desmond Trufant
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted: DB Donte Deayon, RB Buddy Howell
- Placed on IR: RB Jake Funk, TE Johnny Mundt
Minnesota Vikings
- Activated from reserve/injured: RB Kene Nwangwu
- Released: RB Ameer Abdullah
New York Giants
- Promoted: OT Korey Cunningham, WR Dante Pettis
- Placed on IR: WR C.J. Board
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Rashard Robinson
- Waived: G John Molchon
Tennessee Titans
- Activated: S Brady Breeze
- Placed on IR: WR Cam Batson, CB Caleb Farley (story)
- Waived: P Johnny Townsend
Today’s taxi squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DE Josh Mauro
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LB Joe Thomas
- Released: LB Chris Williams
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Reggie Bonnafon
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Chris Thompson
Dallas Cowboys
- Released: CB Isaiah Johnson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Aaron Adeoye
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Connor Strachan
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on IR: S Jordan Lucas, CB Marvell Tell
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Shilique Calhoun
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Vince Biegel
- Released: LB Shaquem Griffin
New England Patriots
- Signed: K Riley Patterson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Lakiem Williams
New York Giants
- Signed: G Derrick Kelly, WR Travis Toivonen
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Jaydon Mickens
Washington Football Team
- Signed: K Chris Blewitt, LB De’Jon Harris
- Released: WR Kelvin Harman, CB Cole Luke
A long list of reserve/futures contracts to pass along:
Chicago Bears
- WR Rodney Adams, DB Marqui Christian, DB Xavier Crawford, OL Dieter Eiselen, TE Jesper Horsted, WR Thomas Ives, DT LaCale London, OLB Ledarius Mack, DB Teez Tabor, OL Badara Traore
Indianapolis Colts
- RB Darius Anderson, S Ibraheim Campbell, CB Andre Chachere, DT Kameron Cline, WR Quartney Davis, G Jake Eldrenkamp, TE Farrod Green, G Sam Jones, T Carter O’Donnell, RB Paul Perkins, P Austin Rehkow, CB Will Sunderland, CB Roderic Teamer, TE Andrew Vollert, DT Chris Williams, DT Rob Windsor
New York Giants
Seattle Seahawks
- OT Tommy Champion, QB Danny Etling, WR Aaron Fuller, WR Penny Hart, DB Gavin Heslop, DT Cedrick Lattimore, C Brad Lundblade, TE Tyler Mabry, QB Alex McGough, DB Jordan Miller, WR Cody Thompson
Tennessee Titans
- OT Paul Adams, WR Rashard Davis, TE Parker Hesse, WR Cody Hollister, TE Tommy Hudson, LB Jan Johnson, T Brandon Kemp, QB DeShone Kizer, K Tucker McCann, OL Daniel Munyer, OLB Nate Orchard, LS Matt Orzech, WR Chester Rogers, OLB Tuzar Skipper
Washington Football Team
- DT David Bada, WR Jeff Badet, DB Jordan Brown, WR Tony Brown, TE Dylan Cantrel, WR Trevor Davis, DE Jalen Jelks, DT Devaroe Lawrence, RB Javon Leake, T Rick Leonard, TE Tyrone Swoopes, K Kaare Vedvik, RB Jonathan Williams
The other 49ers starting defensive tackle from Super Bowl LIV the Colts added this offseason, Sheldon Day will miss time to start the season.
Day, who came to Indianapolis after the Colts’ DeForest Buckner game, underwent a knee surgery this offseason and will begin the 2020 campaign on IR. However, he will not have to miss the customary eight games required for IR-return players.
Teams can activate players off IR after three weeks this year, thanks to the COVID-19-related rule adjustments for this season. There is no limit to how many players can return from IR. The new CBA will allow for three in future years, assuming the NFL nixes the pandemic-induced rule changes in 2021, but this year the league will permit maximum roster flexibility to aid teams in this unusual landscape.
Day started each of the 49ers’ three playoff games last year but mostly worked in a reserve capacity in San Francisco. The former fourth-round pick will join Kemoko Turay as Colt D-linemen unavailable to start the season. Turay will begin the year on the Colts’ reserve/PUP list, which still requires a six-game absence.
The Colts signed tackle Chaz Green to take Day’s roster spot. They also added 14 players to their practice squad Sunday. Longtime Steelers tight end Xavier Grimble agreed to join the Colts’ P-squad, after the team made him one of its Saturday cuts.
Here is the full list:
- CB Andre Chachere
- DT Kameron Cline
- G Jake Eldrenkamp
- WR Daurice Fountain
- TE Farrod Green
- DE Gerri Green
- TE Xavier Grimble
- C Joey Hunt
- QB Chad Kelly
- T Carter O’Donnell
- CB Tremon Smith
- DT Chris Williams
- DT Rob Windsor