Colts Claim Linebacker Deon King Off Waivers; Waive Wide Receiver Marcus Leak

The Indianapolis Colts announced on Tuesday that the team has claimed linebacker Deon King off waivers from the San Diego Chargers and waived wide receiver Marcus Leak in a corresponding roster move.

Originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted rookie free agent following this year’s NFL Draft, King spent the offseason with Jerry Jones‘ team and was productive in preseason, making 19 tackles in 4 preseason games (1 start).

Nevertheless, King was ultimately part of Dallas’ final 53-man roster cuts. He was then signed to the Cowboys practice squad before being released shortly thereafter.

The 6’0″, 225 pound linebacker resurfaced with the San Diego Chargers practice squad in early October and was subsequently promoted to the Bolts 53-man active roster in Week 9 of this year’s regular season. He appeared in 2 games with the Chargers, recording 1 tackle, before his release on Monday.

Of course, it’s not the first time the Colts have expressed interest in King, as the team brought him in for a pre-draft workout in early April. The former Norfolk State standout led all FCS schools with 163 total tackles (14.8 avg. tackles per game) in 11 games, as well as 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 passes deflected during his senior season.

Meanwhile, the Colts had just promoted Leak from their practice squad a week ago, so his time with the active roster was short-lived coming off the team’s bye week.

The undrafted rookie wide receiver was injured for a large portion of the team’s training camp, but stood out at times with the Colts when actually healthy. He’s a candidate to be re-signed to the team’s practice squad–assuming he clears waivers.