The Colts are cutting running back Stevan Ridley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Ridley was signed by the Colts just days ago after he was cut by Detroit. The Colts have spoken at length about their plan to preserve Frank Gore‘s legs by lightening his workload and Ridley figured to be a part of that. Alas, the Colts didn’t see enough from Ridley in the last few days to keep him on the 53-man roster.
After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Patriots, Ridley signed with the Jets last season, but didn’t see the field all that much after coming off the PUP list. With Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell handling the majority of the workload out of the backfield, Ridley took over for Zac Stacy as the No. 3 back and earned just 36 carries, totaling only 90 yards for a career-worst 2.5 yards per attempt. His stint with Indianapolis could represent his best opportunity to reestablish himself as a quality back.
Here’s the running list of the Colts’ cuts so far today (links via Mike Wells of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified):
- RB Stevan Ridley
- WR Tevaun Smith (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star)
- DE Ronald Thompson
- DL Sterling Bailey (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- DT Kelcy Quarles (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
- ILB Trevor Bates (link)
- ILB Nate Irving (via Holder)
- OLB Earl Okine
- CB Tay-Glover Wright
- CB Christopher Milton
- S Alden Darby
- S Lee Hightower
- WR MeKale McKay
- OG Kitt O’Brien
- OG Adam Redmond
- OT Mitchell Van Dyk
- OT Jeremy Vujnovich
The team has also placed offensive guard Hugh Thornton, cornerback Tevin Mitchel and linebacker Ron Thompson on the injured reserve, according to Holder and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has started 32 of his 37 games through his three seasons in the league.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.