The Indianapolis Colts have added an undrafted rookie wide receiver through free agency.
WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts have added more competition to the wide receiver room during training camp, signing rookie undrafted free agent Liam Clifford out of Penn State.
Clifford (6'1", 200, 23 years old) was a tryout player for the Colts during rookie minicamp in May, and now fills the roster spot of running back Lincoln Pare, who was waived this week with a Non-Football Injury designation.
Clifford played in 52 career games at Penn State (15 starts), catching 42 passes for 530 yards (12.6 avg.) and a touchdown. He also made a marginal impact on special teams, playing 204 career snaps and scoring a touchdown on a blocked punt last season.
Clifford is the younger brother of former Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford.
The Colts are looking to raise the level of competition at wide receiver. Alec Pierce and Josh Downs are atop the group, with Ashton Dulin, Laquon Treadwell, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Anthony Gould battling for snaps behind the starters.
Rounding out the receiver room are Deion Burks, Eli Pancol, Coleman Owen, E.J. Horton Jr., Sahmir Hagans, Raylen Sharpe, and now Clifford.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen was asked about how things are coming along at the receiver position this offseason.
“Right now, we’ve got moving parts right there, and guys are moving around," Steichen said. "You’ve got to step up. And there's some competition in that room right now that we're excited about, but excited about Downs right now. Obviously, a guy that can play inside and outside now for us, and his role is going to improve this season for us, which we're excited about. And Dulin's a guy that's got to step up, and Treadwell and Westbrook-Ikhine and the rest of those guys. So, I'm excited about that group, and they're going to compete like crazy during training camp.”
The most likely opportunity for Clifford to find a role with the Colts is through special teams, and there's no better time than now for him to take advantage. The Colts lost several key members of their special teams groups, so competition in coordinator Brian Mason's phase of the game is more open than ever.
Outside of regular camp practices, Clifford will have an opportunity to prove himself in three joint practices against the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, as well as preseason matchups against the Patriots, Falcons, and Detroit Lions.
The Colts practice again on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET before taking their first break of camp.
