Colts: ESPN projects Indy to make shocking cut this offseason

The Colts made a surprise cut in ESPN’s 53-man roster projection.

It was pretty surprising to see Washington quarterback Jacob Eason fall to the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, so the Colts got tremendous value in nabbing him with the No. 122 overall pick.  Though he likely won’t play a snap this season, as he’s well behind the likes of Philip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett on the depth chart, Indianapolis could do a lot worse with its third signal caller.

However, one particular NFL insider believes that the former Husky‘s tenure with the Colts won’t even last beyond preseason workouts.

With the start of training camp looming, ESPN reporter Mike Wells unveiled his 53-man roster projections, and they shockingly feature the Colts cutting Eason.

Wait, what? The general consensus is that throwing Eason on the practice squad would come with the risk of losing him to a more quarterback-needy team on waivers. Therefore, keeping him on the active roster should be a no-brainer judgement call for general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich. Why risk losing a fourth-round pick, let alone a potential future franchise gunslinger, that you made a part of the team just a few months ago?

Furthermore, Indianapolis keeping just two quarterbacks on the active roster would be a massive gamble.

We get that Rivers is as durable as they come, but at 38 years old, his body will be as fragile and susceptible to injury as its ever been. What happens if he goes down and there’s nothing but spare parts left on the open market to sign as insurance behind Brissett?

Waiving Eason with the hope of re-signing him to the practice squad just seems like a totally avoidable headache. Again, this is only a projection, and we certainly don’t think the world of Eason just yet, but the Colts releasing the 22-year-old a few months after spending a fourth-round pick on him would make zero sense.