Colts Sign QB Stephen Morris; Place CB D’Joun Smith on IR

The Indianapolis Colts announced Thursday that the team has signed quarterback Stephen Morris and placed rookie cornerback D’Joun Smith on season-ending injured reserve with a knee injury.

Originally signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent out of Miami (Fla.) in 2014, Morris was most recently on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad this season where the Colts signed him from.

Aug 14, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Stephen Morris (6) runs for a big gain in the fourth quarter of a preseason NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at EverBank Field. The Jacksonville Jaguars won 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

While Morris has yet to appear in an actual NFL game in his career, the 6’2″, 213 pound quarterback did appear in 3 out of the 4 of the Jacksonville Jaguars preseason games including a start in their preseason finale.

During this year’s preseason, Morris was 23 for 42 (54.8%) for 242 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, and a passer rating of 79.7.

At Miami, Morris finished his Hurricanes career completing 551 of 955 passes (57.7%) for 7,896 passing yards, 49 touchdowns, 30 interceptions, and a passer rating of 137.8 in 36 games.

Morris should serve as the Colts emergency 3rd-string backup quarterback behind expected starter Matt Hasselbeck and his primary backup Charlie Whitehurst.

Meanwhile for Smith, it marks the end to what’s been a frustrating rookie campaign for the cornerback due to injury. Having suffered a knee injury in preseason, Smith only appeared in 4 games for the Colts this season and recorded 1 tackle after being activated in Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons.

As a 3rd round pick of the Colts in May, Smith was expected to assume a prominent backup role within the Colts secondary. However, he’s battled a lingering knee injury all season and the talented rookie from Florida Atlantic was never actually able to consistently stay on the field.

With just two weeks left in the season, the Colts finally decided to shut Smith down for the season and look to get him at full strength for next year, while adding another quarterback insurance policy in the process.