INDIANAPOLIS – As is always the case, there is no lack of storylines when an NFL team pares its substantial preseason roster to the regular-season limit.
From 90 to 53. With a caveat, everyone needs to remember: rosters are as fluid as the ocean.
No sooner did the Indianapolis Colts and 31 other teams settle on their 53-player roster Tuesday than they began debating whether another team’s castoff is better than someone they kept.
No one should be surprised if Indy’s 53-man roster undergoes a few changes in the coming days. General manager Chris Ballard and his personnel staff undoubtedly will peruse the waiver wire to determine if another team’s castoff at a certain position is better than a player they kept. Indy is No. 15 in the waiver/claim process.
But first things first, and that would be the most prominent tidbits from the Colts’ 29 personnel moves Tuesday:
*The team believes there’s an outside chance last year’s top sack producer can return late this season after tearing an Achilles tendon on July 28. Samson Ebukam was placed on the injured reserve list but has the significant “designated for return’’ option.
While that seems highly unlikely considering the normal rehab time is in the nine-month range, there’s precedent. In 2021, Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers tore his right Achilles in mid-July and returned for the Rams’ regular-season finale. Akers was the leading rusher for the Super Bowl-winning Rams.
The bottom line: there’s no real risk in taking the best-case rehab approach with a player who had a career-high 9.5 sacks last season.
*Jelani Woods will miss a second straight season. The 2022 third-round draft pick was placed on IR after undergoing turf toe surgery. He wasn’t designed to return. Woods missed last season with hamstring injuries.
*Sam Ehlinger, the No. 3 quarterback behind Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco, is part of the 53. It was thought the Colts might carry the 2021 sixth-round pick on the practice squad if he cleared waivers, but the NFLPA vetoed a plan adopted by owners that would have permitted a team to carry a third quarterback on the practice squad and elevate him an unlimited number of times on game day.
*Maybe the Colts would have kept Ehlinger on the 53 even if the Players Union hadn’t stepped in. Exposing him to waivers before re-signing him to the practice squad would have given another team a shot at an experienced, savvy QB. But keeping a third quarterback might have resulted in the Colts retaining just three running backs.
Jonathan Taylor’s supporting cast – for now – consists of Trey Sermon, who missed several weeks of camp with a hamstring injury, and Tyler Goodson.
*Ballard once insisted his headstone would reflect his commitment to strong offensive and defensive lines. The 53 reflects strength in numbers. Each area has 10 players, and each area teems with experience and proven talent.
*Offensive lineman Dalton Tucker is one of seven rookies to survive the cut, and the only one signed as a post-draft free agent. The Colts have a history of giving undrafted rookies a shot. They’ve had at least one make the week 1 roster in 24 of the past 26 seasons. A league-best active streak of 22 consecutive seasons ended in 2021.
Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly was pounding Tucker’s drum earlier this week. Tucker appeared in 51 games with 30 starts at Marshall.
“Yeah, I mean, small town, Kentucky kid goes and plays at Marshall, undrafted, small signing bonus comes into a very veteran, established offensive line,’’ Kelly said. “I told people at lunch this is the most talented our offensive line has been; 15 guys total.’’
It’s been impossible for Kelly not to notice Tucker.
“Oh yeah, I mean, when they sing in training camp, and his signing bonus is like, zero,’’ he said with a wide smile. “You couldn’t be more pumped for that guy, right? I mean, to go the hard route, small school, minimal offers out of high school, praying that some teams are watching your film from your senior year to make it and having a seat in the room.
“It is so incredible. You pull for those guys. They ultimately contribute so much to the room. I mean, that’s what’s so important about it, is you’re here for a reason.’’
Here’s a positional breakdown of the Colts’ initial 53:
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
(*- denotes rookie)
OFFENSE (26)
QUARTERBACK (3): Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger.
RUNNING BACK (3): Jonathan Taylor,Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, AD Mitchell*, Anthony Gould*, Ashton Dulin.
TIGHT END (4): Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory.
OFFENSIVE LINE (10) LT Bernhard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly, RG Will Fries, RT Braden Smith, T Blake Freeland, T Matt Goncalves*, C/G Tanor Bortolini*, G Dalton Tucker*, C/G Danny Pinter.
DEFENSE (24)
LINE (10): E Kwity Paye, T DeForest Buckner, T Grover Stewart, E Tyquan Lewis, E Laiatu Latu*, T Raekwon Davis, E Dayo Odeyingbo, T Adetomiwa Adebawore, T Taven Bryan, E Isaiah Land.
LINEBACKER (5): Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed, Segun Olubi, Grant Stuard, Jaylon Carlies*.
SECONDARY (9): CB Kenny Moore II, CB JuJu Brents, CB Jaylon Jones, S Julian Blackmon, S Nick Cross, CB Darrell Baker Jr., Dallis Flowers, S Trevor Denbow, S Rodney Thomas II.
SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
PK Matt Gay, P Rigoberto Sanchez, LS Luke Rhodes.
INJURED RESERVE (Designated to return)
*DE Samson Ebukam
*LB Cameron McGrone
INJURED RESERVE (No return)
*TE Jelani Woods
*WR Juwann Winfree
Here are the other roster moves made on Tuesday. Several of these players probably will be re-signed to the practice squad:
*Released: DE Genard Avery, CB Chris Lammons, WR D.J. Montgomery, TE Eric Tomlinson, WR Laquon Treadwell.
*Waived: CB Micah Abraham, LB Austin Ajiake, LB Liam Anderson, QB Jason Bean, DE Levi Bell, S Marcel Dabo, RB Demetric Felton, G Arlington Hambright, RB Evan Hull, DT Eric Johnson II, DT Jonah Laulu, DE Titus Leo, TE Jordan Murray, C Mike Panasiuk, RB Zavier Scott, CB Jaylin Simpson, CB Ameer Speed, S Michael Tutsie, T Jake Witt, LB Craig Young.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.