Ryan Lankford

Colts Cut Donald Thomas, Trim Roster To 75

3:26pm: The Colts are down to 75 players, after announcing this afternoon that they’ve waived/injured cornerback Deveron Carr. Carr will land on the team’s IR list if he clears waivers.

8:23am: In addition to releasing Thomas, the Colts have also cut 11 other players this morning, and placed two more on reserve lists, reducing their roster to 76 players. Here’s the full list of Indianapolis roster moves:

Cut:

  • Harland Gunn, G
  • Nicklas Haag, ILB
  • Zach Hodges, OLB
  • Tyler Hoover, T
  • Ryan Lankford, WR
  • Jeris Pendleton, DT
  • Ezell Ruffin, WR
  • Justin Shirk, ILB
  • Justin Sinz, TE
  • Abou Toure, RB
  • Brandon Vitabile, C

Waived/injured:

  • Donald Celiscar, CB

Placed on injured reserve:

  • Tevin Mitchel, CB

8:04am: The Colts have parted ways with another offensive lineman from their 2013 free agent class, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who reports (via Twitter) that the club has released veteran guard Donald Thomas. Indianapolis also cut tackle Gosder Cherilus earlier in the offseason.

Thomas, who turns 30 next month, signed a four-year deal with the Colts in 2013 after having made 21 starts in four seasons for the Dolphins and Patriots. However, multiple quad injuries prevented him from seeing the field much in Indianapolis — Thomas played just two regular season contests in 2013 and none in 2014 before starting this year on the team’s physically unable to perform list. The former sixth-round pick was activated from the PUP list last week.

Had the Colts kept Thomas on their roster, he would’ve counted for a cap hit of $3.75MM in 2015, an exorbitant charge for a player who hasn’t seen any significant game action for a couple years. By cutting him, the Colts will reduce his cap numbers to just $250K each for 2015 and 2016. Thomas, meanwhile, will immediately become a free agent, giving him the opportunity to sign with any team.

Colts Sign 10 To Futures Contracts

Following their season-ending loss in New England last night, the Colts have shifted their focus towards next season. Mike Chappell of RTV6 tweets that the team has signed ten players to reserves/futures contract:

All ten players spent at least some time on Indy’s practice squad in 2014, while Quarles made a pair of appearances with the big-league club. Meanwhile, Guy compiled ten tackles and a sack in four games with the Jaguars earlier this season.

The other notable name here is Demps, an Olympic sprinter. The 25-year-old previously spent time with the Patriots and Buccaneers before joining the Colts’ practice squad.

Sunday Transactions: AFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Houston Texans:

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars:

  • Claimed off waivers: Mickey Shuler, TE (via Ryan O’Halloran on Twitter)
  • Cut: Marcel Jensen, TE (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
  • Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Cody Booth, T; DeAndre Coleman, DT; Henry Josey, RB (via Adam Caplan on Twitter); Craig Loston, S; Stephen Morris, QB; Kerry Taylor, WR; Tony Washington, WR; Marcus Whitfield, LB. The team has also added cornerback Peyton Thompson, reports Michael DiRocco (via Twitter), although the team has not officially announced the signing.

Tennessee Titans:

Colts Finalize Roster, Deal Burley To Seahawks

The Colts have finalized their 53-man regular season roster, according to the team, which announced in a press release their roster moves to get down to 53 players. In addition to the moves listed below, the team also pulled off a trade, sending defensive back Marcus Burley to the Seahawks for a 2015 sixth-round pick, according to the Colts’ Twitter account.

Here’s Indianapolis’ full list of transactions:

Waived:

Released:

Waived-injured:

Placed on reserve-suspended list:

Minor Moves: Sunday

We will keep an eye on any minor transactions from today and update this post with news of any such transactions (most recent news on top).

  • The Patriots have signed sixth-round cornerback Jemea Thomas, tweets his agency, Universal Sports Management. Thomas played college football at Georgia Tech.
  • The Saints will sign edge player Cheta Ozougwu, who spent the past two seasons with the Bears before being waived about a month ago, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates:

  • The Colts have waived WR Greg Moore and signed WR Ryan Lankford, tweets Craig Kelley of Colts.com.
  • The Bears will release punter Drew Butler, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The release was confirmed via Twitter by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The release leaves the door open for new draftee Pat O’Donnell to become the team’s punter.

Minor Moves: Dolphins, Buccaneers, Williams

Tonight’s minor moves…

  • The Dolphins signed free agent Stephen Williams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). A fifth-year undrafted free agent, Williams hasn’t caught a pass since 2010. In a related move, Miami bid farewell to wide receiver Ryan Lankford (link).
  • The Buccaneers signed Cal running back Brendan Bigelow, an undrafted free agent, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Bigelow didn’t impress at his NFL Combine audition and that was due in part to a sprained ankle.

Dolphins Sign 21 Undrafted Free Agents

THURSDAY, 4:25pm: Add one more player to the Dolphins’ undrafted free agent class, as USC safety Demetrius Wright showed up on today’s transaction wire, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 10:44am: The Dolphins have signed two more undrafted free agents, bringing their total to 20. Former Arizona State defensive end Gannon Conway and Tulane running back Orleans Darkwa have also showed up on the league’s transaction wire for the Dolphins, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

MONDAY, 6:06pm: The Dolphins have made their undrafted free agent signings official today announcing their 18 new players via their official Twitter account.

Here are all the Dolphins’ signings:

  • Deion Belue, DB, Alabama
  • Steven Clarke, DB, Vanderbilt
  • Tariq Edwards, LB, Virginia Tech
  • Evan Finkenberg, OL, Arizona State
  • Harold Hoskins, TE, Marshall
  • David Hurd, OL, Arkansas
  • Anthony Johnson, DT, LSU
  • Derrell Johnson, LB, East Carolina
  • Kamal Johnson, DT, Temple
  • Ryan Lankford, WR, Illinois
  • Tyler Larsen, OL, Utah St.
  • Tevin Mims, DE, South Florida
  • Garrison Smith, DT, Georgia
  • Marcus Thompson, LB, Rutgers
  • Davonte Wallace, OL, New Mexico State
  • Damien Williams, RB, Oklahoma
  • Andrew Wilson, LB, Missouri
  • Rantavious Wooten, WR, Georgia