As the entire NFL made its final roster decisions, the Indianapolis Colts were doing their part to go from 90 to 53. Among the players so far released were kicker Blake Grupe, defensive tackle Colby Wooden, and running back Ulysses Bentley IV.
Wooden was one of the most surprising Colts cuts, considering he was the return player in the Zaire Franklin trade earlier in the summer. Clearly, the Colts have another plan in mind. As for the others, Bentley and Grupe stand out the most, but the Colts' second-year running back appears to have been beaten out by a rookie, Seth McGowan.
With Bentley gone, it opens up a spot in the Colts' running back room. If the Colts were thin on experience at that position before roster cuts, they certainly are thinner now. With that in mind, what the Colts do now is key, considering that Jonathan Taylor is the main workhorse, with very little depth behind him. The Colts don't have many options in front of them, but they do have them.
The Indianapolis Colts have a hole at running back Jonathan Taylor needs help with
Unless the Colts plan to run their superstar running back full-go nonstop until the wheels fall off like they did last season, they'll need more than what they have behind Taylor. Cutting Bentley, who has also shown solid hands in the passing game, made that pretty clear. Okay, so Taylor's wheels didn't exactly fall off, but it would be wise for the Colts to provide better support this season, unlike last.
The only problem is that while there are a handful of backs cut from their teams that the Colts can pick up off the waiver wire, experience is in short supply. Trey Benson (Arizona), Dontae McMillan (Baltimore), Hassan Haskins and JaMychal Hasty (New England), and Zamir White (New Orleans) were all released.
If the Colts want to move away from Bentley completely, the five backs mentioned are what's available on waivers. Of course, the Colts could bring Bentley back, but with McGowan now, they may have chosen their young back to develop over this season and next, which could leave Bentley out for good.
With only McGowan and DJ Giddens currently listed behind Taylor, there's next to zero NFL experience, which could be a problem midseason if something catastrophic happens to Taylor. At least with Bentley, the Colts had a trio of backs to help out. Now, they're down to just two.
It's not necessarily dire that the Colts add another back right away. Still, if another NFL team lets go of a rusher with multiple years of experience, a proven track record as a rotational back, or simply someone more proven than McGowan and Giddens, the Colts can't let that opportunity pass. Colts general manager Chris Ballard will have his eyes scanning the market; there's no doubt.
The waiver wire might be the Colts' best option as far as options go. If there is a position that needs help considering the roster cuts, it's running back, where depth is already thin.
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