GM Chris Ballard is focusing on the offensive and defensive lines.
On roster cut-down day, general manager Chris Ballard and the Colts had no shocks to reveal. By Tuesday’s 4 p.m. EST deadline, Indianapolis has reduced its 90-man roster to 53 players, establishing the original group of players with whom the team will begin the 2024 season.
Let’s go deeper into their decisions and what they might indicate for the future campaign.
No surprise cuts
While cut day often results in unpleasant conversations with players, Indianapolis made no significant cuts. The most surprise occurred in the running back room, when second-year back Evan Hull was left out. Hull had played only eight snaps in his debut season, gaining one yard, before being sidelined with a knee injury.
While he was totally healthy for this year’s camp, it was evident from the start that he and Tyler Goodson would compete for the third spot on the depth chart as a receiving back in head coach Shane Steichen’s offense.
Hull did not impress sufficiently in preseason, but Goodson was a nice surprise, making the Colts’ decision to go with Goodson appear to be simple. After all, he is more experienced on offense than Hull.
Aside from that, no other cuts stood out. This is a good sign for Indianapolis as it prepares for a key season with pressure to return to the playoffs.
With the tight end situation sorted, what’s next for Jelani Woods?
Going into training camp, the tight end position was easily the most competitive competition to watch, with five talented individuals vying for four slots. Unfortunately, Ballard and Steichen’s decision was made considerably easier because of an injury.
Jelani Woods, a third-year tight end who just had toe surgery and was expected to be out until around Christmas, was placed on season-ending injured reserve as part of Tuesday’s roster alterations. There was speculation that Indianapolis could use one of its two newly announced “IR to return” designations, but those went to DE Samson Ebukam and LB Cam McGrone instead.
It’s a sad blow for Woods, who will now miss his second consecutive season due to an injury, having battled hamstring troubles during 2023. Instead, the Colts will use Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree, and Will Mallory at tight end in 2024.
With both Alie-Cox and Granson’s contracts expiring in 2025, Woods will be under intense pressure to outperform them both and win more playing time next season, creating a difficult issue for Ballard to solve come contract time. However, we finally have an answer to the most intriguing position competition on the depth chart.
Plenty of depth in the trenches
Since his initial news conference in 2018, Ballard has taught that the offensive and defensive lines are the foundation of a football team’s success. His choice to maintain 10 offensive and ten defensive linemen on the roster for 2024 exemplifies this ideology perfectly.
Ballard is no stranger to making such decisions, having previously chosen to maintain ten players on each side, including eleven defensive lineman in 2021. What was more interesting was who he chose to keep and who he did not. On offense, he released Jake Witt, a 2023 seventh-round pick at offensive tackle, and surprised some by keeping second-year lineman Blake Freeland despite he struggled consistently during preseason, following a less-than-ideal rookie year. He did, however, choose to keep one of his undrafted free agents, Dalton Tucker, out of Marshall, which surprised many given the overall unimpressive crop of undrafted signings.
Defensively, Ballard made a couple more cuts, releasing rookie seventh-round defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and third-year tackle Eric Johnson II while keeping Taven Bryan, who some anticipated would be cut. Ballard clearly valued Bryan’s familiarity with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s scheme. It remains to be seen whether Bryan will play substantial snaps on the interior this season, as new addition Raekwon Davis and second-year tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore are expected to be the major rotational components behind mainstays DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.
Gambling at cornerback?
The secondary has been the main topic of conversation in Indianapolis this summer as a result of last year’s troubles, despite the fact that it was made up of young, inexperienced players. However, it appears like Ballard has not learnt from his previous campaign, as he has again chosen to roster only five cornerbacks, compared to six last season.
Dallis Flowers has returned from injury, JuJu Brents has continued to struggle with them, and Darrell Baker Jr. was a guy who opposition attacks consistently targeted in 2023. Could we have predicted this given the only two moves to address the issue were day three draft picks, neither of whom made the roster? Possibly. The basic line is that nothing was done to materially improve the position. The Colts are taking a big risk by selecting this group, and it could backfire.
Quarterbacks as expected
Jason Bean immediately became a fan favorite throughout the preseason, and some called for him to make the roster. He did not, since Indianapolis maintained the usual three quarterbacks rather than four. This was an expected conclusion, but it confirms Sam Ehlinger’s good rapport with Steichen. If he didn’t, the Colts would probably be fine cutting him a year before his deal expires and giving Bean a developmental year.
Bean is now on waivers, and a big number of players were left without a team on Tuesday, so a return to the practice squad is always an option. It would have been more unexpected if he had been one of the 53 rather than a member of the scout team.
Although Tuesday was the deadline for teams to finalize their first rosters, they are all but that: initial. With a waiver frenzy approaching, players released on Tuesday may return to their former teams as front offices perform roster gymnastics to create the best collection of 53 players (and 16 practice squad members) for the 2024 season.