Colts 2019 free agents: Al Woods

The Colts are going to have to make some tough roster decisions in the offseason. Some of those decisions will be made along the defensive line.

Al Woods was brought in from Tennessee last year to be a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. He started all 16 games for the Colts and was used to plug up holes in the running game and gather double teams so other players could rush the passer more effectively.

But once the team switched to a 4-3 base this year, Woods became less needed. He only started 8 games this season and put up worse numbers across the board than he did last year. He didn’t even record a single sack.

Because of Woods‘ age, he is 31 now, he might be on his way out of Indy. He also plays better as a nose tackle in a 3-4 technique as opposed to a 4-3. Someone else could use his services more effectively than the Colts. He could use a change of scenery to help his stats go back up.

But it is never a bad thing to have depth along the defensive line. Woods was needed when Denico Autry and Tyquan Lewis missed significant amounts of time. The Colts want to be a deep team, and keeping Woods would help them achieve that goal.

If the Colts do decide to bring Woods back, it would probably be on a one or two year deal. They don’t want to commit to him long-term. Woods might not be interested in a short-term deal this time around though. He might want to look for more commitment, which makes sense.

I wouldn’t be shocked whichever way this goes. I could see them bringing Woods back on a short deal, and I could also see the Colts letting him walk. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do.