Colts Sign Players to Reserve-Future Deals Including Ben Heenan, Dez Southward

According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the Indianapolis Colts have signed a number of players including safety Dez Southward and offensive guard Ben Heenan to reserve-futures deals:

Of course, all 6 of those players finished this past season on the Colts practice squad, which means the team clearly wants to keep them around going forward.

One of the biggest names of the group is Southward, who signed with the Colts practice squad in early November:

"“Originally a 2014 3rd round pick of the Falcons, Southward played his collegiate football at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a consensus All-Big 10 honorable mention as both a junior and senior.As a rookie in 2014, Southward appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons, recording 23 tackles, 2 passes deflected, and an interception–showing initial promise at safety.”"

Joining him is Heenan, who was a former CFL standout along the offensive line that the Colts signed last February.

The former #1 overall pick of the 2012 CFL Draft remained with the team until late August, but was released after tearing his meniscus. However, he was added to the team’s practice squad in early November.

For these young players, the Colts are clearly intrigued by their potential and future development to warrant keeping them within the organization this offseason.