On Tuesday, the Colts announced their initial 53-man roster. They kept 26 players on offense and 24 players on defense.
At quarterback, there were no surprises as they decided to keep Sam Ehlinger along with Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. Jason Bean, who stood out in the preseason, was cut, but is expected to be a prime practice squad candidate if he’s not picked up by other teams.
At running back, the Colts surprisingly decided to cut Evan Hull and they kept Goodson and Sermon along with star Jonathan Taylor. Sermon should serve as the backup with Goodson as the 3rd stringer. Hull could be a good candidate for the practice squad.
At receiver, there were no surprises as they kept the core four along with special teams standout Ashton Dulin and rookie Anthony Gould. DJ Montgomery and Laquon Treadwell could serve as good practice squad players.
Along the offensive line, the Colts decided to keep 10 offensive linemen, a higher than average amount. On top of the returning 5 starters, they kept Bortolini, Goncalves, Freeland, Pinter and Tucker. While Bortolini and Goncalves are not surprises as they are rookies, some could say that Freeland and Tucker are slight surprises.
Moving to the defense, the Colts decided to keep 10 defensive linemen, which like the offensive line is a larger than normal amount. Along with their starters and returning players, they decided to keep Taven Bryan again, which is a surprise to some. Other than him, there were no surprises.
At linebacker, the Colts kept 5 linebackers, which isn’t a surprise. On top of the two returning starters, they went with Stuard, Olubi and Carlies, all of which serve slightly different roles and add value on special teams.
At cornerback, the Colts decided to only go with 5 guys, which is usually a player lower than what most teams do. They went with Brents, Jones, Moore, Flower and Baker, and decided to cut Abraham and Simpson, who should be prime practice squad candidates.
At safety, they went with 4 players, which isn’t a major surprise although 4 is usually one less than usual. Ronnie Harrison was cut a few days ago, so if he’s still available, it’s expected that he will be added to the practice squad.
Finally with special teams, there were no surprises.
This is the initial roster and there could still be many more cuts in the coming days.
