INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts raised some eyebrows even before taking the field for a 33-8 beatdown of the Miami Dolphins.
When the team announced their list of inactive players 90 minutes before kickoff, rookie defensive end JT Tuimoloau was included.
“Yeah, we went deep with the d-tackles in that game," Colts head coach Shane Steichen explained to reporters on Monday. "That's really what went into it for that game. Will it be like that every week? I don't know. It just depends on the team we're playing. Obviously, we got the four ends right now that we have, and so we just wanted to go heavy at d-tackle so he was down for this game.”
Tuimoloau was the Colts' second-round draft pick this spring, and overall appeared to have an impressive summer in training camp and the preseason.
Instead, all of the Colts' defensive tackles on the active roster — DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Neville Gallimore, Eric Johnson II, and Adetomiwa Adebawore — were made active against Miami. This was, perhaps, in anticipation that the Dolphins would try to run the ball over the middle frequently with De'Von Achane and Ollie Gordon II.
As a result of the Colts controlling the game from start to finish and scoring on each of their drives, the Dolphins quickly had to shift into pass mode, only carrying the ball 12 times throughout, including nine of them from actual running backs.
With different offenses on the schedule posing various challenges, Tuimoloau will have opportunities to be active on gamedays. However, being behind Laiatu Latu, Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis is an uphill battle.
Tuimoloau's versatility and ability to be used as both an end and defensive tackle in certain packages should help him occasionally crack the lineup.
“Yeah, for sure," Steichen acknowledged about Tuimoloau's ability to be used in different ways. "Continue to work and grow and develop. He's a good player. Like I said, we just wanted to go heavy inside with the d-linemen.”
The Colts host the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.