Colts 53-Man Roster Finalized

The Indianapolis Colts made their final cuts (for now) to the 53-man roster Saturday. All NFL teams had to have the rosters trimmed by 4:00PM today.

The Colts cut the following players:

DE-Gannon Conway, RB-David Fluellen, QB-Chandler Harnish, DE-Tyler Hoover, OLB-Phillip Hunt, ILB-Andrew Jackson, WR-Ryan Lankford, WR-Josh Lenz, C-FN Lutz, S-Dewey McDonald, DT-Nnamdi Obukwelu, CB-Sheldon Price, ILB-Rob Ruggiero, TE-Weslye Saunders, ILB-Kelvin Sheppard, TE-Erik Swoope and G-Josh Walker.

The only surprising name on that list is really Sheppard. He had been playing as the first ILB off the bench, backing up Jerrell Freeman, in the preseason. He was also the team’s reserve ILB in 2013. The truth is that Sheppard simply isn’t that good and struggled despite have many opportunities to succeed.

The Colts also released NT Brandon McKinney and waived-injured tackle Matt Hall and safety Delano Howell. Both Hall and Howell could revert to the IR list if they clear waivers. Howell has been battling a neck injury and seemed like a prime candidate for the IR-Designated to Return list.

The Colts put Robert Mathis on the Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner list for his violation of the substance abuse policy. He won’t count against the active roster and will be out for the first four games of the season.

The Colts traded preseason standout cornerback Marcus Burley to Seattle for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2015.

For the full 53-man roster, click here.

A few notes on the final roster:

• Despite his blunder on Thursday, Da’Rick Rogers made the final roster. The Colts take six receivers into the regular season along with Griff Whalen.
• Mario Harvey made the list as a stopgap at fullback until Stanley Havili is off the PUP list.
• The Colts kept three centers on the roster with Khaled Holmes, Jonotthan Harrison, and Thomas Austin. Injuries forced this move with Holmes recovering from a high ankle sprain and Harrison a sprained thumb on his snapping hand. This forced the Colts to go with 26 offensive players.
• Studebaker is a versatile linebacker. He can be put inside or at the rush position outside.
• Xavier Nixon (knee) and Joe Reitz (high ankle sprain) can both play either tackle or guard. Offer versatility once they both get healthy.
• The Colts kept Zurlon Tipton, who played well in the preseason, on the final roster. The Colts take four running backs into the regular season. This is likely due to A) concerns over Trent Richardson‘s abilities as a runner and B) Ahmad Bradshaw‘s injury history. With all the changes likely to happen, there is a possibility that he gets cut and ends up on the practice squad.

This likely won’t be the Colts final roster heading into next Sunday. Expect there to be a few changes as all the other teams in the NFL make their cuts.