So much attention was focused on the quarterback battle through the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason that many of the other roster battles were overlooked. But there were plenty of battles raging below the marquee QB matchup. On Tuesday, fans learned how Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen, and the rest of the coaching staff resolved those battles.
The Colts' final 53-man roster is just a starting point for the season. Things will change – some will change very quickly. But for at least this one day, 53 players are secure in the knowledge that they have made it onto a pro football roster.
For a lot of other players, it is a setback. It might be a temporary blow. It might end a career. That will all play out in time. When the dust all settled on Tuesday, it turned out that many of the roster projections done by experts were pretty spot on.
Who were the winners and losers for the Colts on cutdown day?
At least the ones done in recent days, after preseason games were played and injuries were factored in. Still, there were some pleasant surprises and some bitter disappointments. There always are on cutdown day in the NFL.
WINNER: the big men in the middle of the defense
Everyone knows that one of the strengths of the Colts' defense is in the middle of the line, where DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart handle business. Everyone also knows that those two tackles are past thirty. Neville Gallimore and Adetomiwa Adebawore were expected to earn backup roles, and they did.
Not as many people thought the Colts would prioritize a couple of other tackles – rookie Tim Smith and young vet Eric Johnson. But both survived and figure to find roles in a rotating defensive front that should keep Buckner and Stewart fresh, while allowing younger players to make their own mark.
LOSER: Isaiah Land
Anyone watching the Colts' final preseason game in a vacuum might have thought the edge rusher Isaiah Land was the best player on the field. He seemed to be in on every play, registering tackles, sacks, and tackles-for-loss. And he didn’t merely do it in that game.
He filled up the stat sheets in all three preseason games. The 2023 UDFA from Florida A&M looked fast and focused, and it seemed to many that he had not only earned a roster spot but would soon be competing for more defensive snaps.
It was not to be. Keeping the extra size in the middle of the defensive line had to cost some spots at other positions, and in the end that decision may have cost Land.
WINNER: Segun Olubi
Another young vet who did win a job was Olubi, the fourth-year player who has been known almost entirely for his special teams play to this point. A lot of early projections had Olubi ceding his roster spot to Austin Ajiake, another speedy young linebacker who the Colts had stashed on the practice squad for a couple of years.
But during preseason, Olubi didn’t merely show up as a special teamer. He looked very good patrolling the middle of the field on defense, accounting for 14 tackles in three games.
The injury to Jaylon Carlies may have opened a door for Olubi, and the linebacker will need to continue to earn his spot when Carlies eventually returns. But the Colts only kept four linebackers on their roster, and Olubi was one of them, something that did not seem at all certain a week ago.
LOSER: Juju Brents
Brents seems to be ending his frustrating two-year run in Indianapolis with barely a whimper. When he was chosen in the second round of the 2023 draft, the Kansas State star seemed to have the length, speed, and coverage skill to develop into a top-flight perimeter cover corner.
After showing some flashes during his rookie year, he essentially lost his entire second season to injury and was not able to come back effectively enough to win a spot.
It is especially disappointing given the injury bug that has plagued the Colts’ secondary. They lost potential starter Justin Walley to a torn ACL and have sweated out lingering injuries to several key contributors leading into the season. Even so, Brents was not able to secure a spot. When the Colts traded earlier this week for Mekhi Blackmon, it appears to have sealed Brents’ fate.
WINNER: Luke Tenuta
Injuries may have yielded the opposite result for mammoth offensive tackle Luke Tenuta. The Virginia Tech product has bounced around the league with four teams in four years, seeing the field for a grand total of 25 snaps, most of which have come on special teams. He is back with Indy for the second time, having spent part of the 2022 season with the Colts.
Tenuta was considered a long shot to make the final 53, but with Blake Freeland and Jack Wilson both winding up on injured reserve, and with injuries slowing some of the club’s other tackles, a door opened for Tenuta, and he played well enough to get the call.