Colts’ Antonio Garcia Suspended By NFL
Colts tackle Antonio Garcia has been suspended for the first four games of season for a violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, according to a team announcement. The ban will cost Garcia a month’s worth of game checks and may cost him his spot on the team. 
[RELATED: Colts QB Swag Kelly Suspended Two Games]
The former Patriots third-round pick has yet to find his footing in the NFL. He missed all of 2017 on the NFI list after being diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and lost 40 pounds while sidelined. The Jets claimed him off waivers in May of 2018, but he missed the club’s final cut. The Colts added him to the practice squad before Halloween 2018 and gave him an extended look with a reserve/future deal in January.
Garcia is still looking to make his true NFL debut, but it won’t happen any sooner than October.
Colts Experimenting With Banogu
- The Colts raised some eyebrows when they drafted Ben Banogu back in April. Indy took the pass-rusher in the second round, 49th overall. That was higher than many analysts had him pegged, as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com had him stamped with a fourth or fifth round grade. The Colts bet big on his excellent athleticism, and they’ve been experimenting with how to use it. They started him off as a SAM linebacker this offseason, but have been using him at defensive end more frequently recently, according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. The Colts’ defense took a huge step forward last season, and they’re hoping Banogu can help them continue that with his physical traits and speed.
Colts WR Chester Rogers On Roster Bubble
Chester Rogers played a large role in the Colts’ offense last season, but that doesn’t look like it’ll be the case again in 2019. In fact, Rogers might not even be on the team.
Rogers’ status on Indianapolis’ roster is “very, very tenuous,” according to Stephen Holder of The Athletic. The Colts had T.Y. Hilton last year, but not much behind him. They rotated a series of lesser-known options as their number two, including Rogers. They made upgrading the receiving corp behind Hilton a priority this offseason, signing Devin Funchess to a big contract and draft Parris Campbell in the second round.
With Hilton, Funchess, Campbell, and Deon Cain looking like locks, Holder notes it’ll be an all-out battle for just one or two spots. Meanwhile, Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star writers that Rogers is competing with Zach Pascal for the punt-returning job and that whoever wins that competition will make the roster while the other could be cut.
While Rogers won’t have an easy path, he’s not going down without a fight. Holder writes that he was arguably “the best player on the field during Tuesday’s practice open to reporters,” and that “whether it was his diving sideline catch or his leaping, fingertip grab later in the workout, Rogers’ presence was felt throughout.” Rogers was often productive last year, so he’d likely draw a lot of interest on the open market if he were cut loose.
Back in March the Colts tendered him at the second-round level, showing they were worried about losing him to another team. Because of that he’s set to make $3.1MM in 2019, which could work against him when it’s time to trim rosters. In 16 games and ten starts last year, Rogers put up 53 catches for 485 yards and two touchdowns.
Colts Meet With Darian Stewart
Free agent safety Darian Stewart met with the Colts this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This comes on the heels of a workout for Johnathan Cyprien, so it appears the Colts are in the market for help in the secondary. 
Third-year safety Malik Hooker is working his way back from ACL and MCL tears while fellow safety Clayton Geathers is still rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee. At minimum, Stewart could give the Colts some practice field depth. At maximum, the former Pro Bowler could be a tremendous value addition.
The Broncos released Stewart in March in order to save roughly $3.6MM against the cap. Prior to that, the veteran started in nearly all of his 58 games for the Broncos and recorded a forced fumble and a sack in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory.
Stewart saw some time at cornerback and free safety in ’17, but he played mostly at strong safety last year. He graded out as just the No. 77 ranked safety in the NFL in 2018, according to Pro Football Focus. His 59.6 overall score was a massive step back from his first two seasons in Denver, which included a Pro Bowl nod in 2016.
Latest On Colts LB Bobby Okereke
In 2015, a Stanford student told school administrators that she was sexually assaulted by a player on the football team at a fraternity party. The case made national news, though neither the accuser nor the alleged perpetrator were identified. On Wednesday morning, Colts GM Chris Ballard told beat reporters that the player in question was linebacker Bobby Okereke, the club’s third-round pick in the 2019 draft (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the The Athletic). 
Okereke was not charged in connection to the alleged incident and he personally informed the Colts of the matter prior to the draft, according to Ballard. The GM added that the Colts investigate the incident and reviewed the documents from the Title IX case. Because there were no charges filed or disciplinary action against the Stanford product, the Colts went ahead with the selection.
Ballard also cited Okereke’s otherwise clean record as one of the reasons for drafting him. The Colts did not interview the accuser beforehand because Ballard did not feel that was necessary given the other information gathered by the team.
The linebacker reportedly impressed during voluntary workouts in May and is expected to compete with Anthony Walker for the club’s starting MIKE spot.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/4/19
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: WR Mose Frazier
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Tommy Doles
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nico Siragusa
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: DL Lyndon Johnson
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: CB Tyler Horton
New York Giants
- Signed: OLB Keion Adams
- Waived/Injured: OLB Jeremiah Harris
Colts Sign Rigoberto Sanchez To Extension
The Colts have signed punter Rigoberto Sanchez to a contract extension, according to a team announcement. Prior to the deal, Sanchez was slated to hit the open market following the 2019 season. Now, he’s under contract for four additional years at a total of $11.6MM with $3MM fully guaranteed, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link).
Sanchez, a University of Hawaii product, averaged 44.8 yards per boot in college. He’s maintained a similar average (45.3 yards per punt) over the last two years with the Colts while appearing in every single game. Thanks in large part to Sanchez and Adam Vinatieri, the Colts had one of the league’s best special teams units in 2018.
The retirement of Pat McAfee left the Colts with some questions at the punter position, but they haven’t missed a beat thanks to the emergence of Sanchez. Now, the youngster is set to be in the fold for years to come.
Colts’ Javon Patterson Done For Year
Colts rookie offensive lineman Javon Patterson suffered a torn ACL, according to head coach Frank Reich. The seventh-round pick will miss his rookie season and the team will place him on injured reserve. 
[RELATED: Colts To Work Out Johnathan Cyprien]
Patterson, an Ole Miss product, spent most of his time at guard in college, but was projected to play at center in the NFL due to his overall lack of length and strength. The Colts were happy to scoop him up with one of the final picks in the 2019 draft, but they’ll have to wait until 2020 to see what he can do.
The Colts will move ahead with Josh Andrews and center/guard Evan Boehm behind starter Ryan Kelly on the offseason roster.
Colts To Work Out Johnathan Cyprien
Safety Johnathan Cyprien will work out for the Colts on Monday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Cyprien has been on the market since his release from the Titans in March, but hasn’t played since 2017 due to a torn ACL. 
Cyprien was given the green light by doctors in May, which should mean that he’ll find a deal sooner rather than later. He’d be a logical fit in Indianpolis where Clayton Geathers is sidelined after having his knee scoped. Malik Hooker, meanwhile, has been a full participant in practice, but past hernia, hip, foot, ACL, and MCL issues have held him back in the past. Last year, Hooker missed a pair of regular season games plus the Colts’ divisional-round loss to the Chiefs.
The advanced metrics have never been high on Cyprien, but evaluators still view him as an effective stopper in the secondary. The 28-year-old (29 in July) has started in all 70 of his career games.
Latest On Malik Hooker, Clayton Geathers
After two offseasons featuring extensive injury rehab, Malik Hooker has been a full-fledged participant in the Colts‘ latest program. Surgeries to repair hernia and hip issues delayed Hooker’s Colts work after the franchise used a first-round pick on him in 2017, and rehab from the ACL and MCL tears Hooker suffered that season sidetracked him last year. Nothing is impeding the third-year safety at the moment.
Here is the latest from the AFC, shifting first to the other Colts safety starter:
- While Hooker is having a rare stretch free of injury talk, Clayton Geathers is resting after an offseason knee surgery. The fifth-year safety, who recently re-signed with the Colts, said (via Erickson) he underwent a “cleanup” procedure this year. Knee trouble plagued Geathers for much of last season, the defender categorizing it as “a battle” to make it to game days weekly. This marks the second straight offseason Geathers underwent knee surgery. Foot and neck problems have severely constrained the former second-round pick as well during his career. Geathers has not played more than 12 games in a season since 2015, but he said he is feeling better after this latest surgery.