- Malik Hooker will not participate in the Colts‘ rookie minicamp this weekend and will likely be held out until training camp, according to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com. The first-round safety underwent surgeries in January to repair a torn labrum and address a hernia issue.
Here are today’s minor moves.
- A day after being waived by the Bills, cornerback Marcus Roberson landed with the Texans via waiver claim, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link, per ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak). Roberson represents another member of the Bills’ cornerback contingent to be added elsewhere, joining Stephon Gilmore and Nickell Robey-Coleman.
- The Ravens now have all the players to whom they extended an RFA or ERFA tender to signed. ERFA inside linebacker Lamar Louis signed his tender today, Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun tweets.
- After giving rookie UDFA Colin Buchanan a $10K signing bonus, the Saints waived him with a “left squad” designation, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports (on Twitter). The Saints also guaranteed $10K of the Miami (Ohio) product’s rookie salary, per Underhill (on Twitter).
- The Colts signed free agent DT Josh Boyd and waived OLB Curt Maggitt with an injury settlement.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts have added another face to their evolving front office, as the club has agreed to hire former Redskins and Browns executive Morocco Brown, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Brown will serve as Indianapolis’ director of college scouting, reports Albert Breer of the TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).
Chris Ballard has now hired three fresh names to the Colts personnel staff in the past two days, as the new general manager brought in former Seahawks executive Ed Dodds and ex-Jets college scouting director Rex Hogan on Tuesday. As Breer indicated yesterday, Dodds and Hogan will act as co-vice presidents of player personnel. Incumbent director of pro personnel Kevin Rogers will stay in his current role, per Breer.
Ballard is clearly valuing familiarity in his new hires, as he enjoys a prior working relationship with both Hogan and Brown. Brown, who previously served as Cleveland’s vice president of player personnel and Washington’s director of pro personnel, worked alongside Ballard with the Bears. Brown was tangentially linked to the 49ers’ general manager vacancy earlier this year.
New Colts general manager Chris Ballard is initiating a revamp of the club’s front office by hiring former Jets senior director of college scouting Rex Hogan, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Hogan and former Seahawks senior personnel executive Ed Dodds — who is also expected to be hired soon — will be named co-vice presidents of player personnel, per Breer. Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday (Twitter link) reported earlier today that Indianapolis would likely add Hogan and Dodds.
Indianapolis had been expected to make several changes to its personnel department, and those alterations began last week when the club parted ways with scouting director T.J. McCreight and several other members of that department. Given his title in New York, Hogan would seem to be a natural fit to take over McCreight’s duties, and he offers familiarity with Ballard, as well, as the pair previously worked together in Chicago.
Dodds, meanwhile, has been linked to the Colts since March, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported at the time that Ballard was interested in bringing Dodds to Indianapolis. He’d been expected to land a promotion over his current role in Seattle, and he could help fill the void left by former vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III, who was let go earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Colts have also hired Brian Decker, a former Green Beret, as player personnel strategist, tweets Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com. As Wickersham detailed in a fascinating piece last summer, Decker previously worked for the Browns’ front office, creating character assessments under former Cleveland decision-makers Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Ray Farmer.
Former Colts guard Hugh Thornton is retiring from the NFL. He signed a free agent deal with the Falcons in March, but he has decided to walk away from the game less than two months later. 
Thornton, 26 in June, started 32 games for the Colts from 2013-2015. The former third-round pick was held back by injuries and had not seen regular season action since December 2015. The reason for his retirement is not immediately known, but it’s safe to assume that his recovery has not gone according to plan.
The former third round pick was slated to be one of the top guard backups for Atlanta this year, offering support to Andy Levitre and Ryan Schraeder. Now, the Falcons will look to 2016 sixth round pick Wes Schweitzer and 2017 fourth round pick as the top reserves at the position.
- The Colts‘ first-round selection of Malik Hooker looks to halt Darius Butler‘s wishes to play safety, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star writes. Butler re-signed with the Colts on a one-year, $3MM deal but did so in hopes the team would allow him to transition to safety full-time. But Holder notes that Hooker unexpectedly falling to No. 15 should push Butler back to the nickel role, where he’d work in the slot.
The Colts announced the signing of 18 undrafted players, bringing their roster to the 90-man max. Here’s the full list:
- Deyshawn Bond, OG (Cincinnati)
- Dalton Crossan, RB (New Hampshire)
- Darrell Daniels, TE (Washington)
- Trey Griffey, WR (Arizona)
- Thomas Hennessy, LS (Duke):
- Bug Howard, WR (North Carolina)
- Jerome Lane, WR (Akron)
- Chris Lyles, CB (Mississippi College)
- Christopher Muller, G (Rutgers)
- JoJo Natson, WR (Akron)
- Reggie Porter, CB (Utah)
- Brandon Radcliff, RB (Louisville)
- Rigoberto Sanchez, P (Hawaii)
- Garrett Sickels, OLB (Penn State)
- Jhaustin Thomas, DE (Iowa State)
- Jerry Ugokwe, OT (William & Mary)
- P.J. Walker, QB (Temple)
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.
- The Colts announced today that they’ve waived guard Isiah Cage. Cage, 23, signed with Indianapolis last spring after going undrafted out of Division III Wisconsin Eau-Claire. Less than a month after inking a deal with the Colts, Cage suffered was waived/injured and reverted to the club’s injured reserve list, where he spent the entirety of his rookie campaign. This time around, Cage will become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
Justin Forsett is retiring. The longtime NFL running back is hanging up his cleats after nine seasons. 
“It’s time. I’m officially announcing my retirement from the game I love,” Forsett wrote. “Its been an amazing ride and I’m grateful for every moment. My career has brought so many great people into my life, and I asked some of them to join me in saying goodbye. Against all odds, critics, and naysayers, I accomplished something great. Scouts measured my height and said I was too short. They measured my 40-yard dash and said I was too slow. They looked at my build and said I wouldn’t last. But they couldn’t measure my heart, my faith, and my perseverance. I am living proof that dreams come true and God answers prayers, and I thank God everyday for the opportunity to live out my dream.”
Forsett was a backup for the first six years of his career until 2014 when he got his big opportunity with the Ravens. As Baltimore’s lead back, he ran for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.
After being held back by injuries in 2015, the Ravens cut him loose early in the 2016 season. In 44 combined carries for the Lions and Ravens in the fall, he posted just over 3.0 yards per rush on 44 tries. When he later hooked on with the Broncos, he averaged a mere 3.6 yards per carry on 43 attempts. Entering what would have been his age-32 season, it was clear that Forsett’s best football was behind him.
Forsett will be fondly remembered for his impressive 2014 campaign and his positive locker room influence. PFR wishes Forsett all the best in retirement.