- The Colts have waived wide receiver Trey Griffey off injured reserve, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). Indianapolis first waived Griffey, who’s the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., three weeks ago, but he reverted to IR because no one claimed him. Trey Griffey signed with Indianapolis in May as an undrafted free agent from Arizona, where he hauled in 23 receptions for 382 yards and two touchdowns last season.
- The Colts are focused on improving their turnover margin stat in 2017, and that influenced some of the team’s moves this offseason, Kevin Bowen of Colts.com writes. The Colts selected Ohio State safety Malik Hooker at No. 15 overall and shifted Darius Butler to safety with the hope that they can get more takeaways. On the other side of the ball, they’re hoping that Andrew Luck‘s smart decision making will help to limit turnovers.
- Chuck Pagano and Colts DC Ted Monachino are encouraged by what they’ve seen from third-round pass rusher Tarell Basham, Kevin Bowen of Colts.com notes. Pagano said it will be “exciting” to watch the former Ohio Bobcats defensive end develop, while Monachino said a safe prediction can be made Basham will do “several things well.” Bowen writes Basham will likely be shuttled to outside linebacker in Indianapolis’ 3-4 look. Recently retired edge dynamo Robert Mathis has helped Basham (9.0 sacks as a senior last season) with that transition this offseason. The Colts added edge players Jabaal Sheard, John Simon and Barkevious Mingo in free agency, moving to younger cogs after Mathis retired. Trent Cole and Erik Walden remain unsigned after their Colts contracts expired.
- The Colts allocated much of their linebacker funds to adding outside ‘backers, but they did make some investments to help patch some holes inside. They added Sean Spence and Jon Bostic and used a fifth-round pick on Northwestern’s Anthony Walker. Despite Bostic being signed to a one-year deal worth just $690K and having missed the 2016 season due to injury, Colts.com’s Kevin Bowen projects he will claim one of Indianapolis’ starting inside linebacker jobs. Bowen tabs the other spot to be wide open. Bostic hasn’t started more than one game in a season since starting eight for the 2014 Bears.
The second team to host recently unretired linebacker Zach Orr on a visit, the Colts may not be much closer to making a contract offer than they were before Orr arrived in Indianapolis on Friday.
This visit — sandwiched in between Lions and Jets summits — was more of an information-gathering exercise, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reports. The Colts, Holder reports, wanted to gauge Orr’s readiness after the recently discovered congenital spinal condition forced him to retire earlier this year. So far, the team isn’t comfortable enough with the 25-year-old to foresee a future — based on the current information — where he’s playing in Indianapolis.
Orr has drawn interest from around half of the league, so this could be a lengthy process. He’s planning to visit the Jets on Saturday. The Ravens are also debating a reunion push. But teams’ medical staffs will determine Orr’s future, with the off-ball ‘backer having already established he can be a standout player when on the field.
Orr said he’s feeling great and describes the condition as a birth defect rather than a severe injury. He said he retired after speaking with one doctor but returned after other doctors said he’s not at greater risk of injury by returning to the gridiron.
The Colts made several linebacker signings during Chris Ballard‘s first offseason as GM, but most of the additions came at outside linebacker. The team has needs on the inside after cutting D’Qwell Jackson and not investing high-end draft resources in the spot. Indianapolis took Anthony Walker out of Northwestern in Round 5, though, after signing Sean Spence in free agency.
Orr’s Lions visit concluded Friday, and he subsequently made the trip to Indianapolis to meet with the Colts. The fourth-year linebacker’s Jets powwow will occur after the Colts summit ends.
- The Colts‘ early-season schedule and Chris Ballard‘s presence make Chuck Pagano a hot-seat candidate if the sixth-year Indianapolis leader doesn’t get the team off to a strong start, ESPN.com’s AFC South reporters posit. The Colts have started three straight seasons 0-2 but this year have the Rams, Browns, 49ers and Jaguars in their first seven games. Pagano not being Ballard’s handpicked coach figures to have him as a lame-duck candidate if the Colts are unable to return to the playoffs, however.
The Zach Orr free agent tour continues. Today, the linebacker is meeting with the Colts, (Twitter link via Alex Marvez of SiriusXM). 
[RELATED: Jets, Zach Orr To Meet On Saturday]
The Colts visit is sandwiched between his Lions visit on Thursday and his upcoming powwow with the Jets on Saturday. Orr tells Marvez that he expects to hear back from the Lions later today and his agent (Twitter links via Josina Anderson of ESPN.com) indicated that everything went well in Detroit. It’s not uncommon for scheduled visits to get canceled when a player reaches a deal with another team, but since Orr has interest from roughly half of the teams in the NFL, it stands to reason that he will get together with at least a handful of them before making a decision.
The Colts have already made major renovations to their linebacker group this offseason. Adding Orr would give GM Chris Ballard‘s team an embarrassment of riches, but no team has ever complained about having too much talent in the front seven.
The Colts project to start three free agent additions – John Simon, Sean Spence, and Jabaal Sheard – as linebackers in the 3-4 scheme, along with the returning Edwin Jackson. The reserve group also new faces in rookies Tarell Basham and Anthony Walker Jr. plus free agents Barkevious Mingo and Jonathan Bostic. An Orr signing would be the Colts’ sixth major free agent linebacker pickup of the offseason.
- We heard earlier this week that Andrew Luck may not be ready for training camp, leading some to wonder if he is also in danger of missing the start of the regular season. Kevin Bowen of Colts.com, however, does not believe that’s the case. Bowen says that if the team was really concerned about Luck’s availability for Week 1, the team would have brought in a veteran QB to compete with backup Scott Tolzien.
Christine Michael‘s stay on the Colts’ active roster was short, as the veteran running back has been placed on injured reserve, the club announced today. Indianapolis has signed fellow running back Troymaine Pope to fill its empty roster spot.
It’s unclear exactly what type of injury forced Michael onto IR, but Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets that Michael went down hard in practice yesterday following a collision. Depending on the severity of Michael’s health issue, he could conceivably be released with an injury settlement, allowing him to once again the free agent market after he recovers.
Michael, 26, had just signed on earlier this month to serve as a reserve for the Colts behind starting running back Frank Gore. After averaging 3.9 yards per carry and scoring seven touchdowns with the Seahawks and Packers a year ago, Michael had been set to compete for playing time alongside fellow backups Robert Turbin and rookie Marlon Mack.
Now, that opportunity will go to Pope, who like Michael is a former member of the Seahawks. The 23-year-old Pope appeared in three games for Seattle in 2016, rushing 11 times for 43 yards.
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Marquis Lucas
- Waived: LB Christian Tago
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Harvey Binford, WR Fred Brown, LB Jeremiah George
- Waived: WR Marcus Leak, WR Al-Damion Riles, DT Kristjan Sokoli
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed off waivers: CB Taurean Nixon (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: CB Trevon Hartfield, T Donald Hawkins
- Waived: OL Corin Brooks, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: QB Dylan Thompson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LS Thomas Gafford (Twitter link via Joel Erickson of the Advocate)
- Waived: OL Cameron Lee (Twitter link via Erickson), LS Jesse Schmitt (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)
- Waived/injured: WR Dan Arnold