Breaking Down Colts' 53-Man Roster After Recent Tweaks

After 14 training camp practices and three preseason games, the Indianapolis Colts made their cuts, trimming from 90 players to a 53-man roster on Sunday, a day before building nearly their entire practice squad on Monday.

Since then, the Colts have made some minor tweaks, adding a newcomer off waivers and completing the practice squad.

As currently stands, here is each position group on the Colts.

Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson Sr., Riley Leonard

PS: None

It's still to be determined (or announced) whether Richardson or Leonard is QB2, but for now, the quarterback room is healthy and in good shape.

Jonathan Taylor, Seth McGowan, DJ Giddens

PS: Anderson Castle, Davon Booth

It appears the rookie seventh-round pick McGowan will be the Colts' complementary back to Taylor after showing off three-down ability all summer. The Colts then chose Giddens over Ulysses Bentley IV despite Bentley's impressive summer. Since then, Bentley signed to the practice squad and was released in favor of Booth, an undrafted rookie with the Cleveland Browns who had an impressive preseason.

Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, Deion Burks

PS: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Anthony Gould

The recent addition of Allen, along with getting Westbrook-Ikhine and Gould to the practice squad, gives the Colts a relatively deep receiver corps. Pierce finally returned to practice last week after undergoing surgery on his left ankle/heel in March. Position coach Reggie Wayne said rookie seventh-round pick Burks has shown the most growth of any receiver from the spring to now.

Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree, *Will Mallory (IR-return)

PS: Pharaoh Brown

With Mallory on Injured Reserve for at least the first four games, keep an eye on Brown being elevated for gameday if there are any injuries to Warren, Alie-Cox, or Ogletree. The 32-year-old Brown has been relied on throughout his career, at times, as both a pass-catcher and a blocker.

Bernhard Raimann, Jalen Travis

PS: Luke Tenuta, Nolan Rucci, Roy Mbaeteka

The Colts are razor thin at tackle. After they parted with Blake Freeland, Tenuta became their presumed swing tackle, but they later released him and signed him to the practice squad. Rucci is an undrafted rookie, and Mbaeteka is on his sixth team since 2022. Starting right guard Matt Goncalves would be the swing tackle at present.

Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Jalen Farmer, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Dalton Tucker

PS: Josh Sills, Reid Holskey

The Colts have good interior depth, as the starting trio of Nelson, Bortolini, and Goncalves has proven successful, and the Colts feel good about backup guards Farmer and Tucker. They recently traded for Pran-Granger to be the backup center after they tried, and seemingly failed, to convert Tucker into that spot.

Laiatu Latu, Arden Key, Micheal Clemons, George Gumbs Jr., Caden Curry, Jaylahn Tuimoloau

PS: Mitchell Melton

This group is very, very dependent on Latu making a jump into star-player status. Key, 30, has a single-season career high of 6.5 sacks, and Tuimoloau had a disappointing summer as he failed to show the growth that onlookers were hoping for after barely playing last year as a rookie. Gumbs and Curry had an outstanding summer, but they're rookies who shouldn't be expected to play a significant defensive role.

DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Jerry Tillery, Tim Smith

PS: Cam Ball

One of the pleasant surprises of camp was Buckner's return from a 2025 neck injury. The depth behind him is a bit of a question mark, however. Adebawore consistently flashed as a pass rusher, but Colby Wooden, whom the Colts traded linebacker Zaire Frank for this offseason, was waived. One of the most puzzling comments Colts GM Chris Ballard made this week was that they waived Wooden because Tillery and Smith outplayed him. Smith did have an impressive training camp and preseason, but Tillery appeared to be a liability who struggled to earn a roster spot.

Akeem Davis-Gaither, Jaylon Carlies, CJ Allen, Bryce Boettcher, Austin Ajiake, Tahj Chambers

PS: West Weeks

This group will have many contributors throughout the season. Eventually, Allen will likely be a starter as the Colts made him their first draft pick this spring. He missed several camp practices with groin and hamstring injuries. For now, though, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and linebackers coach James Bettcher have shown a preference for veterans Davis-Gaither and Carlies. Chambers is an undrafted rookie who made the roster after standing out both on defense and special teams.

Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward Sr., Justin Walley, Cam Taylor-Britt* (one-game suspension), Johnathan Edwards, Jaylon Jones, Kapena Gushiken

PS: Kenneth Harris

Gardner and Walley were stars in camp, repeatedly making life difficult for Colts receivers. Behind them, Taylor-Britt provided depth on the boundary and in the slot, but he'll be out for Week 1 serving a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The Colts recently claimed Gushiken off waivers, who will likely play special teams and provide backup in nickel.

Cam Bynum, A.J. Haulcy, Hunter Wohler, Jonathan Owens

PS: Trey Washington, Daniel Scott

Haulcy and Wohler went back and forth throughout the summer competing for the starting strong safety role. It appears to be Haulcy's when he returns from an ankle injury. Owens was a free-agent addition this offseason who's been able to play both safety spots, the nickel, and has stood out on special teams.

Spencer Shrader

PS: None

The Colts had a very interesting battle at kicker between Shrader and Blake Grupe. Grupe dominated camp, kicking about 20 percentage points higher than Shrader, but Shrader was perfect throughout the preseason, booting a pair of 60-yard field goals and another 50-yarder, while Grupe made just half his kicks. Grupe was since waived and joined the New York Jets.

Rigoberto Sanchez

PS: None

It's business as usual for Sanchez, who has been getting used to new contributors at both gunner spots and personal protector.

Luke Rhodes

PS: None

Rhodes and Sanchez have been together for a decade, which has helped the kicker battle operate as smoothly as possible.