Colts Interested In Jeremy Zuttah
The Ravens are interested in reunited with Jeremy Zuttah, but they’re not the only team with interest in the free agent interior lineman. Zuttah is expected to visit the Colts this week, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). 
Zuttah was let go by the 49ers last week after the team decided it would rather go with Daniel Kilgore as the starter with former Rams center Tim Barnes as his primary backup. All in all, Zuttah’s stint in SF lasted only a few months after the team acquired him via trade from Baltimore. That may not be a great endorsement of Zuttah’s skillset at the moment, but one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure in the NFL, particularly in the late summer.
The Colts, it seems, are on the lookout for offensive line depth after Ryan Kelly suffered a minor injury earlier this month. The 2016 first-round pick will be sidelined for a few weeks with a foot ailment and although he is not expected to miss regular season time, the Colts are probably reevaluating their Plan B options in the event that issue pops up again. Right now, 2017 undrafted free agent Deyshawn Bond and 2016 UDFA Adam Redmond appear to be the team’s best reserve options at center.
Jim Irsay Won’t Commit To Andrew Luck Playing Week 1
The Colts still do not have the services of their franchise quarterback, and with Week 1 less than a month away, they are unsure if Andrew Luck will be leading that effort.
Jim Irsay said he can’t commit to Luck suiting up with the Colts for their opener, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Irsay added he considered signing a veteran quarterback but called the price attached to this player “too high,” via Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com (on Twitter). Chappell adds this unnamed veteran was a player in his mid-30s and not Colin Kaepernick.
Irsay (via Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star, on Twitter) said Luck “could miss one game, could miss two, hypothetically.”
The owner’s comments follow a pattern of caution regarding Luck. The sixth-year quarterback, who is still recovering from January shoulder surgery, said himself he couldn’t commit to that date when asked at the start of training camp. But now that camp’s more than two weeks in, this hesitancy becomes a greater concern for Indianapolis’ early-season prospects.
Chris Ballard said in late July the Colts did engage in discussions with a potential veteran backup, seeming to confirm Irsay’s Sunday comments. As it stands, Scott Tolzien is Luck’s backup.
Ballard added Sunday while interviewed during Indianapolis’ preseason opener (via Holder, on Twitter) Luck’s strength levels are probably better now than they were at any point last season. Luck played through a partially torn labrum last year. Holder adds (via Twitter) Luck is throwing currently, but the Colts are holding him back. The cornerstone passer will ramp up his activity when doctors advise it, Holder tweets.
The Colts open their season at the Rams before closing out September with home tilts against the Cardinals and Browns.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Vikings placed Bishop Sankey on IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Minnesota signed the former Titans second-round pick to a reserve/futures contract in January, but an MRI Friday revealed Sankey tore an ACL. He will miss the season. Sankey hasn’t played in a game since 2015.
- Cut by both the 49ers and Jets in August, Bruce Ellington caught on with a third team this month. The Texans agreed to terms with the wide receiver/return specialist, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Jets waived Ellington with an injury designation, but a Friday workout with the Texans provided a green light for the franchise to sign him. The Texans are currently reeling at wideout. In addition to Will Fuller‘s absence, Braxton Miller and DeAndrew White aren’t practicing. Ellington missed all of last season with a torn hamstring.
- The Jaguars signed veteran running back Jonathan Grimes and waived running back Tyler Gaffney with an injury designation, the team announced. Grimes is a five-year NFL veteran whose most notable work came as a backup for the Texans from 2012-16. He gained 455 yards from scrimmage in 2015, the final year Arian Foster suffered a severe injury.
- Defensive end Keionta Davis agreed to terms with the Patriots, who cut cornerback Dwayne Thomas to make room, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. A rookie out of Chattanooga, Davis was invited to the Combine but wasn’t drafted or signed after the draft.
- The Chargers re-signed tight end Matt Weiser, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A University of Buffalo alum, Weiser spent time with the Bolts during their final San Diego camp last summer but was cut just before the season.
- The Colts reached injury settlements with tight end (and former VCU basketball standout) Mo Alie-Cox and wideout Harvey Binford, Wilson tweets.
- Mykkele Thompson‘s time as a Giants secondary cog could be coming to a close. After Big Blue cut Thompson — a fifth-round pick in 2015 — on Thursday, he cleared waivers. NJ.com’s Dan Duggan expects an injury settlement to follow (Twitter link). Duggan notes this Thompson is battling a minor quadriceps injury.
Latest On Andrew Luck
- “All indications” are that Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will avoid opening the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, GM Chris Ballard informed Tom Pelissero of NFL.com on Wednesday (Twitter link). This isn’t the first time Ballard has expressed confidence on this issue, though a report last week suggested Luck’s shoulder could force him to begin the season on the PUP list. Either way, it’s up in the air whether Luck will play Indianapolis’ Week 1 tilt against the Rams, per Ballard.
Colts Sign George Winn
- The Colts have signed running back George Winn and two receivers, Valdez Showers and Brian Riley. The team cut receivers Tevaun Smith and Chris Biggs, both of whom were waived/injured, in corresponding moves. Winn had been out of work since the Giants waived him May 1. He’s best known for his work in Detroit, where he appeared in 19 games from 2014-15 and picked up 74 yards on 23 carries. The only other player in this group with pro experience is Smith, who played in two games with the Colts last year as an undrafted rookie. A Toronto native, Smith was actually a high pick in the Canadian Football League a year ago, going eighth overall to the Edmonton Eskimos, who still hold his rights.
Colts Release Kendall Langford
The Colts announced that they have released defensive end Kendall Langford with a failed physical designation. Langford had been on the Colts’ active/physically unable to perform list recovering from the knee injury that ended his 2016 campaign in late October.
The 31-year-old Langford’s knee has been a problem since after the 2015 season, when he underwent arthroscopic surgery. Langford returned in time for Week 1 last year, but he only lasted seven games before the Colts placed him on injured reserve. All told, Langford played 301 snaps and tallied 10 tackles. Notably, he failed to register a sack for just the second time in his nine-year career and the first time since 2011, when he was with the Dolphins.
Last season was the second in Indianapolis for Langford, who joined the team in March 2015 on a four-year, $17.2MM pact. Langford came to the Colts with an impressive track record of durability and continued that through 2015, appearing in 128 consecutive games to begin his career, and notched a personal-best seven sacks in Indy during his first season with the club.
Since going in the third round of the 2008 draft, Langford has piled up 135 appearances (113 starts) out of a possible 144 with the Dolphins, Rams and Colts. By releasing him, the Colts have saved $4MM of his $4.25MM cap number for 2017 and left themselves with Henry Anderson, Hassan Ridgeway, Margus Hunt and fourth-round rookie Grover Stewart at defensive end.
Chester Rogers Changes Agents
- Colts wide receiver Chester Rogers has changed representation, hiring Rosenhaus Sports to replace Warren and Simpson, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. As a former undrafted free agent, Rogers is eligible to renegotiate his contract after only two seasons (in his case, following the 2017 season). Thus far, Rogers hasn’t done enough to earn an extension, as he managed only 19 receptions for 273 yards during his rookie campaign. However, the 23-year-old Rogers has been working as the Colts’ No. 3 receiver during training camp, ahead of Kamar Aiken and Phillip Dorsett, reports Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Colts Sign Olympic Sprinter Marvin Bracy
The Colts have signed wide receiver/Olympic sprinter Marvin Bracy, the club announced today. In a related move, Indianapolis has waived/injured wideout Harvey Binford.
Bracy, 23, was a 100-meter Olympian at the Rio Games and is a former United States 60-meter dash champion. He spent a year on the Florida State football team as a redshirt before leaving the program to focus on track. As such, Bracy hasn’t played football since 2012, although he was an All-American in high school.
At 5’9″, Bracy doesn’t offer elite size, but he’s considered a “great raw talent” as a wideout, as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported earlier this year. Bracy tried out for the Panthers at their rookie minicamp in May, while the Saints were also interested in the former Seminole.
The Colts current have a dozen wide receivers on their roster, a group that includes T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, Kamar Aiken, Chester Rogers, Phillip Dorsett, Quan Bray, and others.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/17
Here’s a list of today’s minor moves:
- A day after the Dolphins cut him, tackle Terry Poole landed with the Texans via waiver claim, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Poole was initially a Seahawks fourth-round pick but hasn’t yet played in an NFL game.
- The Saints worked out their longtime long snapper Justin Drescher this week and reached an agreement to bring him back on Sunday, Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reports. Sean Payton had been frustrated by the long snapping during camp recently, and the team made the decision to release veteran Thomas Gafford and Chase Dominguez on Sunday. Drescher returns to the Saints after spending the past seven seasons in New Orleans. The team did not re-sign the 29-year-old specialist after his contract expired following last season.
- Former VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox cleared waivers and will revert to the Colts‘ IR list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
- The Titans have signed RB Brandon Radcliff, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). They waived/injured Victor Ochi to make room, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. Ochi tore his ACL on Friday.
- The Steelers have signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd and cut defensive end Nelson Adams. Originally a sixth-round Eagles selection in 2015, Shepherd followed Chip Kelly to San Francisco and played in 11 games for the 49ers last season.
Colts Waive/Injured Mo Alie-Cox
Mo Alie-Cox‘s dream of switching from the hardwood to the gridiron took a bit of a hit on Saturday, as the Colts announced that they have waived-injured the former Virginia Commonwealth University forward. The team has signed tight end Steven Wroblewski to take the open roster spot. If Alie-Cox passes through waivers, he’ll land on the Colts injured reserve.
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Alie-Cox played four seasons on VCU’s basketball team, but he decided to pursue an NFL career following graduation. Considering his height, the player was signed as a tight end, although he allowed teams to audition him at a variety of different positions during his spring workout. He ultimately decided to sign with the Colts in April.
His lack of football experience predictably made him a project, so it might not necessarily be a bad thing if Alie-Cox slips through waivers and has a “red shirt year” on the IR. On the flip side, an assortment of teams had interest in the prospect, including the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jets, Eagles, and Chargers (via Zak Keefer of IndyStar.com). There’s always a chance one of these teams is willing to take the gamble and claim the 23-year-old.
Wroblewski, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Southern Utah, spent time with the Cardinals earlier this offseason. In 21 games between 2015 and 2016, the tight end hauled in 63 catches for 770 yards and three touchdowns. Wroblewski will presumably replace Alie-Cox’s spot on the depth chart behind Jack Doyle, Erik Swoope, and Brandon Williams.