Colts Roster Decisions: Linebacker
INDIANAPOLIS — As much as any 53-player roster projection can be certain, the inclination is that the Indianapolis Colts will keep six linebackers.
The starters are a lock — All-Pro weakside linebacker Darius Leonard, middle linebacker Anthony Walker, and strongside linebacker Bobby Okereke.
Leonard is a two-time All-Pro standout who is among the best at his position in the NFL. Okereke is entering his second season as one of the most promising young talents. And Walker led the Colts in total tackles last season.
Darius Leonard (53) leads a talented group of young Colts linebackers.
Robert Scheer/USA TODAY Sports
Question is, which three will be backups?
The Colts used a sixth-round draft pick to add Michigan special-teams star Jordan Glasgow, who is trying to follow in his two brothers’ footsteps by walking on in college for the Wolverines and eventually making it to the NFL.
Until early this week, Glasgow was penciled in to make this 53-man roster, which must be trimmed by 4 p.m., Saturday (EST). Now he’s slotted to start his rookie year on practice squad.
That probably means he’ll make the roster because media predictions are known to be incorrect on these judgment calls. Hey, the Colts know these guys better than the media.
The reason for changing the position on Glasgow can be attributed to the three linebackers the Colts are also considering: Matthew Adams, Zaire Franklin, and E.J. Speed. All are young players who can excel on special teams.
Adams and Franklin were seventh-round selections in 2018. Speed was drafted in the fifth round last year.
It would be a surprise if Speed got cut only one year after he was drafted. But either Adams or Franklin could lose their spots if the Colts are sold on Glasgow. And, again, that’s very possible.
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Rookie Jordan Glasgow was a solid special-teams player in camp.
Robert Scheer/USA TODAY Sports
The hunch is that the Colts can add Glasgow to the 16-man practice squad because how many NFL teams are going to claim a linebacker who is basically a special-teams player? That’s rolling the dice a little bit, and general manager Chris Ballard might not want to take that chance on a draft pick, but it’s a feasible possibility.
That the Colts cut fullback Roosevelt Nix, who was going to be a key special-teams player, would seem to strengthen a case for Glasgow.
Perhaps the Colts surprise everyone and keep seven linebackers, but that just doesn’t seem likely. Keeping that many will cost a player from another position group. And as this process has unfolded, those final spots become increasingly difficult to predict.
The fact that Nix got released changed the dynamic on this 53-man roster prediction. Instead of five wide receivers, rookie Dezmon Patmon was added as a sixth player from that group as a result of the Nix roster move.
NFL teams talk about how difficult these decisions are every year, but Colts head coach Frank Reich is spot on when he says this is the deepest roster he’s had in his three seasons. Ballard keeps adding quality players, and that makes it even more of a challenge to stick for young players.
Factor in that these players didn’t have any NFL preseason games and were forced to do offseason training activities remotely, and it’s easier to see why keeping a young talent like Glasgow on practice squad makes sense.
So there you have it for linebacker. Now watch. Glasgow will make the roster.
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(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)
