INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts have settled on their 53-player roster.
For now.
After waiving more than a dozen players and placing linebacker Jaylon Carlies on the injured reserve list with a designation to return Tuesday, coach Shane Steichen and his staff know what they’ve got at their disposal heading into a consequential 2025.
The Colts have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons for the first time in more than three decades, haven’t won the AFC South since 2014 and haven’t won a season opener since 2013.
This group must do better.
A pair of familiar names was included on the cut list.
Cornerback JuJu Brents, the 2023 second-round pick and Warren Central High School product, was waived. Tight end Jelani Woods, a 2022 third-rounder, also was waived. Each has spent the past two seasons battling injuries.
Brents has appeared in just 11 of 34 games because of a variety of injuries, while Woods has missed the last two seasons with hamstring and toe injuries.
Also, everyone should keep in mind that Tuesday’s 53-man roster is subject to change.
General Manager Chris Ballard and his personnel staff are always busy with waiver claims. They might target an offensive tackle, linebacker or defensive tackle.
According to a source, the Colts will have Mike Hilton in for a workout on Wednesday. The veteran cornerback played the past four years in Cincinnati for Lou Anarumo, starting 36 games and producing six interceptions.
Teams are allowed to sign up to 17 players on their practice squad on Wednesday.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the 53-player roster (* denotes rookie):
OFFENSE
Quarterback (3)
*Starter: Daniel Jones.
*Depth: Anthony Richardson Sr., Riley Leonard*.
*Comment: Shane Steichen naming Jones as his starting quarterback “for the season’’ didn’t quiet the conversation at the team’s most important position. It simply shifted the narrative. Now, it’s will Jones play at an acceptable level and keep the job? Or might he endure many of the same flaws that led to the New York Giants discarding him after a 2-8 start last season? Or, will Jones suffer an injury that sends Richardson back onto the field? If the Colts get off to a good start with a favorable early schedule, all is well. If not, the clamor for Richardson will increase.
Running back (3)
*Starter: Jonathan Taylor.
*Depth: D.J. Giddens*, Tyler Goodson.
*Comment: The room belongs to Taylor. He’s earned first chair. While Giddens and Goodson should be suitable complements, look for Steichen to give Taylor plenty of work. Maybe 20 carries a game – more if the situation warrants – which won’t surprise us as the Colts seek to give Jones a strong run game. The last five games of 2024 were extreme but showed Taylor’s ability to dominate. During that stretch, he made 28.4 attempts, 144.6 yards and 5.1 yards per attempt. He finished with 96, 107, 218, 125 and 177 yards. A reminder: Taylor has averaged 89.7 yards in his first five seasons, best average among active backs. Derrick Henry is next at 84.0.
Wide receiver (6)
*Starters: Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs.
*Depth: AD Mitchell, Ashton Dulin, Anthony Gould.
*Comment: We argue this is the Colts’ best receivers room since, perhaps, 2010. That group included current position coach Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Blair White. It will be interesting to see if Pierce remains a consistent deep threat with Daniel Jones delivering the football. In his six seasons, Jones has averaged a lackluster 6.5 yards per attempt and 10.1 per completion. Richardson is at 6.9 and 13.6, respectively, in his 15 starts.
Also, Mitchell needs to put a rocky rookie season behind him.
Tight end (4)
*Starter: Tyler Warren*.
*Depth: Mo Alie-Cox, Will Mallory, Drew Ogletree.
*Comment: When’s the last time a rookie skill player/non-QB came in with so much hype? Maybe 2020 with Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr? Maybe. Lofty expectations followed Warren to Indy after it selected him with the 14th overall pick in April and he’s spent the next four months reinforcing the noise. The 6’6″, 256-pounder will be one of Jones’ frequent targets and a Swiss Army knife in Steichen’s offense.
Offensive line (9)
*Starters: LT Bernard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Tanor Bortolini, RG Matt Goncalves, RT Braden Smith.
*Depth: C Danny Pinter, G Dalton Tucker, T Jalen Travis*, T Luke Tenuta.
*Comment: We hope position coach Tony Sparano Jr. doesn’t miss Ryan Kelly and Will Fries as much as we think he might. Watching both relocate to the Vikings in free agency made sense, but it’s a bit naïve to expect a seamless transition to Bortolini and Goncalves. The 2024 draft picks shared 13 starts as rookies, but now so much more is expected. Raimann ($25 million per year) and Nelson ($20 million/year) form one of the NFL’s best and most expensive left-side tandems. And it’s great to see Smith back after dealing with his personal issues.
The main concern is depth. It’s risky to have a rookie (Travis, fourth-round pick) at backup swing tackle. This is a position that could be targeted for a waiver-wire acquisition.
DEFENSE
End (5)
*Starters: Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu.
*Depth: Samson Ebukam, Tyquan Lewis, JT Tuimoloau*.
*Comment: Another accomplished position. Paye is heading into the final year of his contract and could command a major pay bump with another strong season. The 2021 first-round pick had 6 sacks in ’22, 8.5 in ’23 and 8 last year. And let’s not ignore his work against the run. The key to the position is Latu. The 2024 first-rounder was OK as a rookie with 4 sacks and 12 quarterback hits, but he admitted too often he was a split-second slow getting to the quarterback. Latu needs to be better at finishing plays in year two. And it’s going to be fun watching Tuimoloau grow as a rotational player.
Tackle (6)
*Starters: DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart.
*Depth: Neville Gallimore, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Tim Smith, Eric Johnson II.
*Comment: What’s not to like about Buck and Grover? Buckner has been a franchise pillar since coming to Indy in the 2020 trade with the Niners. He’s a locker room leader and backed that up on the field with 39 sacks, 101 QB hits and 50 tackles for loss in 78 games. Stewart is one of the league’s premier run-stuffers.
If the waiver wire offers a better backup option against the run, bring him on.
Linebacker (4)
*Starters: Zaire Franklin, Cameron McGrone.
*Depth: Joe Bachie, Segun Olubi.
*Comment: We anticipate coordinator Lou Anarumo utilizing more defensive backs and fewer linebackers, which is why we’re keeping only four of the latter. The room will grow by one at some point when Jaylon Carlies (ankle) is activated from injured reserve. Kudos to McGrone, the Lawrence Central H.S. product, for making an impact.
This is another position that would benefit from a waiver-wire addition.
Cornerback (6)
*Starters: Charvarius Ward, Xavien Howard.
*Nickel: Kenny Moore II.
*Depth: Jaylon Jones, Mekhi Blackmon, Jonathan Edwards*.
*Comment: Ballard and his personnel staff have given the position a heavy makeover. They signed Ward, a 2023 Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with Kansas City, to a three-year contract with a maximum of $60 million with $36 million guaranteed in March. Ballard selected Justin Walley in round 3 in April and he was on track to start on the outside opposite Ward before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the joint practice with the Ravens. Walley’s loss led to the Colts signing two-time All-Pro Xavien Howard to a one-year deal worth a maximum of $5 million earlier this month. Monday, the Colts acquired Blackmon in a trade with the Vikings.
The returnees are led by Moore, who remains one of the NFL’s top nickels, and Jones.
Safety (4)
*Starters: Cam Bynum, Nick Cross.
*Depth: Rodney Thomas II, Daniel Scott.
*Comment: Cross has missed extended time with a hip injury, but he and Bynum give the Colts one of their better safety tandems since perhaps Antoine Bethea and Melvin Bullitt in 2009. Bynum came to Indy from the Vikings with a four-year, $60 million contract. One of the better stories this preseason has been Scott earning a spot. The 2023 fifth-rounder missed his first two seasons with knee and Achilles injuries.
SPECIAL TEAMS
*Kicker: Spencer Shrader.
*Punter: Rigoberto Sanchez.
*Long-snapper: Luke Rhodes.
*Comment: Shrader has reinforced the team’s decision to move on from Matt Gay with a strong preseason. The second-year kicker, who initially signed with the Colts in April 2024 as an undrafted rookie, converted 9-of-10 field goal attempts in the preseason and all three of his PATs. His one miss was a 52-yarder that glanced off the left upright.
INJURED RESERVE
(designated to return)
*LB Jaylon Carlies (ankle).
WAIVED-INJURED
*K Maddux Trujillo.
RELEASED
*RB Khalil Herbert, CB Chris Lammons, TE Sean McKeon, CB Duke Shelley, WR Laquon Treadwell, DT Josh Tupou.
WAIVED
*LB Austin Ajiake, WR Ajou Ajou, QB Jason Bean, RB Ulysses Bentley IV, CB JuJu Brents, LB Jake Chaney, DT Devonta Davis, LB Solomon DeShields, OT Marshall Foerner, C Wesley French, DE Marcus Haynes, CB Alex Johnson, OT Marcellus Johnson, WR Tyler Kahmann, DE Isaiah Land, DE Desmond Little, TE Maximillian Mang, CB B.J. Mayes, DE Durell Nchami, RB Nate Noel, WR Coleman Owen, WR Landon Parker, G Josh Sills, WR Blayne Taylor, S Ladarius Tennison, LB Joseph Vaughn, C Mose Vavao, S Trey Washington, CB Samuel Womack III, TE Jelani Woods, RB Nay’Quan Wright.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.