Twenty-nine waives, six releases, and 35 roster moves later, 53 men are left standing on the Indianapolis Colts’ roster.
On Aug. 30, the Colts released their 53-man roster ahead of the upcoming season. Unsurprisingly, there were some moves made that people following the team were not anticipating.
Two big moves in particular raised questions. One was the release of defensive lineman Colby Wooden, who was sent to Indy in the Green Bay Packers trade that included Colts Pro Bowl linebacker, Zaire Franklin. This came as a bit of a shocker, especially considering Wooden was having a productive training camp where he displayed his pass rushing ability consistently. The front office opted to part ways with the 25-year-old, leaving many fans questioning what Indy gained in trading away a pro bowler.
On the other side of the ball, fourth-year quarterback Anthony Richardson managed to survive the cuts. He wasn’t necessarily likely to be released, but he was a trade candidate as he did request a trade from the team back in February. It has yet to be stated whether Richardosn will be QB2 or QB3 on the depth chart yet, but his immediate future in Indianapolis is clear. When asked about the plan around the young quarterback, general manager Chris Ballard shut down the trade speculation, stating “He will be an Indianapolis Colt this year.”
With the major surprise out of the way, the rest of the Colts 53-man roster still offers plenty of intrigue. Here's how the rest of the roster breaks down position by position.
Quarterbacks: Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson Sr.
The biggest question among these three is who will serve as the primary backup to Daniel Jones. Naturally, fans are hoping it won't even matter, as the hope is that Jones will be healthy enough to start every game this season.
Running Backs: Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens, Seth McGowan
It’s a fairly young room with Seth McGowan, the rookie out of Kentucky, making the roster in his first NFL season and DJ Giddens, a second year back out of Kansas State, making it as well. Although Taylor is entering his seventh year in the league, he is still widely considered one of the best backs there is and the engine of the Colts’ offense. Ulysses Bentley was the one who did not end up surviving the cuts, which came as a slight surprise considering how good of a camp he had.
Wide Receivers: Alec Pierce, Kennan Allen, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin, Deion Burks, Laquon Treadwell
Although there were questions about Allen’s legal status and where the front office stood with the matter, it looks like the trio of Pierce, Allen and Downs will be out there week one. Longtime Colt Ashton Dulin secures his spot on the roster as well. Dulin, in the past, has been known for his exceptional work on special teams, but with the room being much more open this year, it looks like it may be time for Dulin to get consistent reps at wide receiver. A notable receiver who did not make the cut is former Indiana University receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Westbrook-Ikhine was beaten out by the veteran Laquon Treadwell, but the former Hoosier will stay on the team with the practice squad.
Tight Ends: Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
No surprise here as all three of these players supply the offense with essential skills in order to make Shane Steichen's offense run effectively. The main heavy lifting will come from second- year tight end Tyler Warren. Warren's going to see an increase in targets this season and may even have the most receptions among all the Colts pass catchers.
Offensive Line: Tanor Bortolini, Jalen Farmer, Matt Goncalves, Quenton Nelson, Bernhard Raimann, Jalen Travis, Luke Tenuta, Dalton Tucker, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Depth may become an issue with this group of linemen, but if the starters can stay healthy, this is a solid group of protectors for Daniel Jones. However, something to keep an eye on is Quenton Nelson’s contract situation. The star guard enters the final year of his four-year extension, and you have to imagine that the Colts’ front office will want to keep him in blue.
Defensive Line: Adetomiwa Adebawore, DeForest Buckner, Micheal Clemons, Caden Curry, George Gumbs Jr., Arden Key, Laiatu Latu, Tim Smith, Grover Stewart, Jerry Tillery, Jaylahn Tuimoloau
A loaded defensive line room has always been a vital part of Chris Ballard's formula to success and it appears that carried over to this season. Laiatu Latu is one of the players whose success heavily depends on that. Latu showed flashes last season of being a premier player, but failed to show up week in and week out. Having Buckner and Stewart return is a monumental plus, but health will be a question as both players are past the age of 30.
Linebackers: CJ Allen, Bryce Boettcher, Jaylon Carlies, Tahj Chambers, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Austin Ajiake
On paper, this position group has the least firepower and is going to ask a lot out of rookies CJ Allen and Bryce Boettcher. While mistakes are expected early on, there's also plenty of optimism surrounding the young group.
Cornerbacks:, Sauce Gardner, Jaylon Jones, Justin Walley, Charvarius Ward Sr., Johnathan Edwards
When healthy, this could be one of the best cornerback rooms in the league, the only issue is that they struggled with staying on the field last season. Both Ward and Gardner missed half their games with the Colts last season due to injury, which cannot happen again this season with the Colts committing $48 million between the two of them just this season.
Safeties: Cam Bynum, AJ Haulcy, Jonathan Owens, Hunter Wohler
Bynum and Haulcy will likely be the starters and we will most likely see Wohler and Owens get their snaps in on special teams. Haulcy is a promising rookie out of LSU and will have to learn fast under the veteran leadership of Bynum.
Special Teams: Spencer Shrader (K), Rigoberto Sanchez (P), Luke Rhodes (LS)
Kickers Spencer Shrader and Blake Grupe both did their job at a high level all training camp and preseason, but the Colts ultimately went with Shrader as their kicker for the upcoming season. A decision that was not an easy one considering how well Grupe had been kicking, but Indy has high expectations for Shrader as well.
A bright spot for Chris Ballard and the Colts front office is that their entire 2026 draft class made the 53-man roster, something that few teams are able to say.
