Colts Acquire RB David Fluellen From Eagles
By Evan Reller
The Indianapolis Colts traded away rookie kicker Cody Parkey for running back David Fluellen from the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday.
The Colts had attempted to cut Parkey on Tuesday but rescinded before the deadline. In lieu of Parkey, the Colts waived running back Phillip Tanner.
Tanner fumbled on the goal line against the Giants in last Saturday’s preseason game. The Giants recovered the ball for a touchdown. Mistakes like that don’t earn you a roster spot.
These moves are likely to amount to nothing, but Parkey was never going to make the final roster as long as Adam Vinatieri can still hit 50-plus yard field goals. Parkey was simply a camp leg to spell Vinatieri and save him (and Pat McAfee on kickoffs) a few reps for the regular season.
Fluellen will have a legitimate shot to make the roster. Give credit to Ryan Grigson for continually churning the bottom of the roster hoping to find a diamond in the rough.
Fluellen hails from Toledo and finished with 3,336 career yards, fourth in school history. In his four years, he never had below a 5.1 yard per attempt average. In his senior campaign, Fluellen had 6.7 yards per carry and found the end zone 10 times. He finished with 28 career touchdowns.
He was a two-time first-team All-MAC and measures at 5-foot-11 and 225-pounds. He was signed by Philly as an undrafted free agent. In the preseason opener against the Bears, Fluellen had six carries for 25 yards and a 14 yard touchdown reception. He sat out the second game against the Patriots due to injury, but returned to practice the following day.
Fluellen will have to compete with Dan Herron, Zurlon Tipton, and Deji Karim for the remaining running back spots. The Colts have headed into the past two seasons under Chuck Pagano with three RBs (and one full back) on the 53-man roster and it wouldn’t be surprising if they do the same thing this year.
Herron has the third spot locked up, so Fluellen’s competition will be with Tipton and Karim for a likely practice squad position. It doesn’t matter if Fluellen makes the roster or not since Parkey was going to be cut anyway.