This summer has done nothing to ease concerns about the Indianapolis Colts' edge rush.
The Indianapolis Colts made a major overhaul to their pass rush room this offseason, opting to let veterans Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam, and Tyquan Lewis all leave in free agency.
The team aimed high in hopes of landing Trey Hendrickson, but that ultimately fell through once the Baltimore Ravens swooped in at the last minute with a massive contract.
While missing out on Hendrickson was certainly disappointing, the most puzzling aspect of the offseason came with the Colts' backup plan, or lack thereof, once that deal fell through. The team had already signed veterans Arden Key and Micheal Clemons as reserves at that point, so the logical next step was to find a player who could start alongside Laiatu Latu.
Only that next move never came. The Colts did add two rookies in the draft, but both were selected late enough to be classified more as developmental projects rather than day-one starters. George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry could both have a bright future with the Colts, but it feels unlikely they will bring massive change to the 2026 team.
So that brings the Colts back to square one. In an effort to improve an edge rush room that struggled to create pressure without blitzing, the Colts' only moves have been to bring in Key (a player best used as a rotational rusher), Clemons (an inconsistent at-best depth player), Gumbs (a rookie 5th-round pick), and Curry (a rookie 6th-round pick).
The lack of outside additions made it abundantly clear that the team was betting big on development from Latu and Jaylahn Tuimoloau to pick up the slack. While betting on Latu made a lot of sense, as he took a massive step forward in 2025 and is a former top-15 selection, the bet on Tuimoloau is a head-scratcher, to say the least.
Tuimoloau hardly played last season as a rookie, spending parts of the early season as a healthy inactive and also missing time late in the year due to an oblique strain. He made 13 appearances, finishing with 17 total tackles, six quarterback hits, and zero sacks for the Colts.
That level of production, or lack thereof, doesn’t warrant the major show of faith the Colts have had in him this offseason. Regardless, he had a golden opportunity in front of him to grab a starting edge job and prove that his down rookie season was more of a fluke. Only that didn’t happen.
Essentially, since day one of camp, the starting edge job opposite Latu has gone to Key. Tuimoloau barely got any run with the first team and spent most of the summer practicing with the second-team defense. He didn’t appear to be practicing poorly, but he also wasn’t gaining any ground on Key whatsoever.
The last chance that Tuimoloau had to fight for the starting job came in the preseason games against the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe if he could make some splash plays, it could be enough to win the job. Instead, his stock plummeted as he looked overmatched against the Patriots and the Falcons’ reserve offenses.
His pass rushing has looked unremarkable at best, but his run defense is the biggest concern. He is struggling to maintain his gaps and is getting easily moved off his spot by wide receivers and tight ends in the clips below. This is simply not the film of somebody who can be out there when the regular season rolls around.
This article wasn’t written solely to bash Tuimoloau either. Yes, he has been a disappointment thus far, and I struggle to see that changing this year, but he never should have been put in this situation to begin with after his unimpressive rookie season. Betting big on a player who looked so far from ready last year is, and always was, absolute insanity.
In a “must-win” season, the Colts’ edge room is simply not good enough. Gumbs, Curry, and Tuimoloau are projects at best, while Key is a perfectly adequate reserve player. Clemons could maybe give them some production, but it would be crazy to think he moves the needle in any meaningful way. Every hope and prayer comes down to Latu taking a superstar leap, and even he hasn’t shown the capability to do that as of yet.
I guess the big question here is: what did the Colts expect to happen with this edge room coming into training camp? That George Gumbs Jr. would be the next Robert Mathis and/or Jaylahn Tuimoloau would suddenly turn into a younger Trey Hendrickson? The plan was flawed from the start, and it’s looking even worse right now as the team readies for Week 1 in less than three weeks.
This edge rush room is not in a good place, and with little time to improve before Week 1, it will likely remain an issue for the entirety of the season.
In a “must-win” season, the Colts have a losing formula at the edge rusher position.
