Deyshawn Bond

Colts Cut Austin Howard, Reach 53-Man Roster

The Colts are at the 53-man roster max after making a bundle of transactions, including the release of offensive tackle Austin Howard.

[RELATED: Colts Cut John Simon]

The Colts invested $1.3MM guaranteed in Howard, but he was medically cleared until late July and struggled in camp and during the preseason. The Colts dangled him in trade talks this week, but there were no takers for him.

Despite his issues this summer, Howard had a solid 2017 with the Ravens and graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 36 offensive tackle. If healthy, he could draw interest from other teams.

The Colts also placed defensive end Chris McCain, linebacker Jeremiah George, defensive end Anthony Johnson, and tight end Ross Travis on injured reserve.

Here’s a look at the rest of the Colts’ moves:

Waived:

Last year, Bond ascended to the starting center job when Ryan Kelly broke his foot late in training camp. Unfortunately, a torn quad landed him on IR in October. This year, he’ll be looking for work elsewhere.

Alie-Cox was a former basketball player looking to transition to tight end. Although Antonio Gates and others have successfully made the jump, Alie-Cox has yet to find similar success.

In addition to the aforementioned moves, the Colts also waived the following players with an injury designation. If they clear waivers, then they revert to the Colts’ Injured Reserve list:

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/17

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Colts C Deyshawn Bond Suffers Torn Quad

Colts center Deyshawn Bond, who left Sunday night’s game on the second play, has suffered a torn quad, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Mike Wells (Twitter link). It’s too early to have an exact timetable on Bond’s return, but a torn quad will likely rule him out for the season. Deyshawn Bond (vertical)

[RELATED: Colts Make Practice Squad Moves]

Bond ascended to the starting center job when Ryan Kelly broke his foot late in training camp. His injury is unfortunate, but the good news is that Kelly started practicing last week and the team is hoping that he’ll be back in action before long. With some luck, he may be able to go next Sunday against the 49ers.

I mean, the last time that I actually really got down in a stance like that and hit somebody was against Detroit, so it’s been seven, eight weeks or so. But I think it’s kind of like riding a bicycle, so once you’re a couple practices in or so you start getting used to it,” Kelly recently said of his recovery (link via team website). “But I think just conditioning-wise and getting back into football shape, it’s amazing how fast you can get out of it. So that will certainly come with time. But (I’m) working every day just to stay in shape and get stronger, so looking forward to it.”

In three games this year (excluding this Week 4 contest against Seattle), Bond was on the field for 104 passing snaps and 85 run snaps, per Pro Football Focus’ data. He earned a poor 42.2 score from PFF in that limited sample, but Kelly liked what he saw from his understudy.

He’s played really well — a real strong guy,” said Kelly. “It’s awesome we got him out of (college) free agency, and to see how hard he’s worked every single day to come in and prepare, and he’s been a real pro. Every day he’s gotten better, and it’s awesome to see.”

Colts Sign 18 Undrafted Players

The Colts announced the signing of 18 undrafted players, bringing their roster to the 90-man max. Here’s the full list:

Sanchez has experience in both kicking and punting. Last year at Hawaii, he averaged 44.6 yards per punt and nailed all 13 of his field goal tries. According to Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter), Sanchez received a $12K bonus, which is rather high for a kicker.

Griffey is the son of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. The wide receiver had 23 catches for 382 yards and two scores in his final season at Arizona.

Walker is Temple’s all-time leader in completions, passing yards, and touchdowns. In 2016, he threw for 3,295 yards with 22 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. His yardage and TD totals marked a career high.