The biggest surprises and takeaways from Colts initial 53-man roster

Wide Receiver (4)

Roster: Micheal Pittman Jr, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Isaiah McKenzie
Cuts: Breshad Perriman, Vyncint Smith, Tyler Adams, James Washington, Kody Case, Mike Strachan, DJ Montgomery, Juwann Winfree

Very surprising that the Colts are only keeping four receivers for the moment. This could be a time for Ballard to scour the waiver wire again and potentially bring in another body. I expect some of these guys to be on the practice squad but with keeping five tight ends, they may want to run different schemes that will be more tight end dependent.

Tight End (5)

Roster: Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Jelani Woods, Drew Ogletree, Will Mallory
Cuts: Pharoh Brown, Nick Eubanks, Michael Jacobson
Injured Reserve: Ricky Seals-Jones

While we thought Mo Alie-Cox would be cut, he ultimately survived. There are reports that Jelani Woods has a torn hamstring and that appears to be the reason why five were kept in this group. This seems like a lot, but head coach Shane Steichen values this position in his offensive game plan, and don’t be surprised if Mo Alie-Cox is gone by October as they want to stay young here.

Offensive Line (9)

Roster: Bernard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Braden Smith, Blake Freeland, Carter O’Donnell, Arlington Hambright, Wesley French
Cuts: Dakoda Shepley, Dan Skipper, Matthew Vanderslice, Emil Ekiyor
Injured Reserve: Danny Pinter

With Danny Pinter going to Injured Reserve, this opened a spot or two that wasn’t expected to be available. Ballard decides to go with nine for the group. He always likes to have depth across both lines. Some fresh faces join the team with O’Donnell and Hambright and French returns in a backup role. Don’t rule out some movement here shortly with waiver wire adds in the coming days.