Colts Sign Wideout Tyler Rutenbeck

The Indianapolis Colts announced today that they have signed free agent wideout Tyler Rutenbeck. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Redskins out of Dubuque, Rutenbeck was recently released on May 18, 2015.

However, he was a standout for the Dubuque Spartans, recording 66 receptions for 918 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns and receiving First Team All-Iowa Conference honors as a senior. In 4 seasons at Dubuque, Rutenbeck had 163 career receptions for 2,715 receiving yards and an all-time school record of 42 receiving touchdowns. He’s one of the university’s all-time leading receivers, as he also ranks third in receiving yards and 4th in receptions.

The Colts had previously released wideout Josh Lenz just a few weeks ago, and it looks as though Rutenbeck figures to be his immediate replacement. While the Colts are seemingly loaded at wideout with T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Phillip Dorsett, Duron Carter, and Griff Whalen all in the mix, it’s always great to have additional wideout depth, especially for a team that figures to utilize a lot of 3 and 4-wideout sets.

Even though Rutenbeck figures to be a considerable longshot to make the team’s 53-man active roster come late August, he’ll still have a chance to latch onto the team’s practice squad and provide extra organizational depth should injuries or a need arise. In the mean time, he’ll provide another body at wideout for the closure of the team’s offseason training practices and even looking ahead toward training camp.

As a Division III standout from a small school university, Rutenbeck’s definitely the type of undrafted free agent that Colts fans typically like to root for. It’s possible that he could potentially surprise and make an impact come next season. While the odds are seemingly against it, stranger things have happened. At the very least, Rutenbeck has a chance to become a practice squad stash for the team going forward.

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