Here's who the Colts cut at NFL deadline
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have completed their initial cuts to reduce the roster from 90 players to 53 but it will likely be revised by waiver claims made Wednesday.
Running back Jonathan Taylor remains with the team and was put on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List, meaning he'll miss the first four games.
More: Jonathan Taylor remains with Colts at roster cutdown, will miss first 4 games per report
Indianapolis made nine moves on Sunday, then a handful more on Monday, before finishing off the task of trimming the roster on Tuesday. The biggest surprise Tuesday was waiving cornerback Darius Rush, who the Colts drafted in the fifth round. Also Tuesday, the team released wide receiver Michael Strachan. Many of the players the Colts release will be candidates for the team's 16-man practice squad, which can be assembled after players clear waivers on Wednesday.
Strachan, a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2021, spent two full seasons on the roster, but he failed to carve out a spot in the rotation. In both of his seasons in Indianapolis, Strachan made a splash early — all five of his career catches came early in the season — and then struggled to find a spot in the rotation. The team currently has just four receivers on the roster.
Indianapolis has also reduced the running back room to just three players: Zack Moss, Deon Jackson and rookie Evan Hull. The Colts waived backups Jake Funk and Jason Huntley on Tuesday, two days after cutting veteran Kenyan Drake.
Drake, a veteran of four teams, seven seasons and 3,866 rushing yards, was initially seen as potential insurance for an Indianapolis running back room that has its starter, Taylor, actively seeking a trade and its top backup, Moss, recovering from a broken arm.
Predictions: Projecting the Colts' initial 53-man roster
Ekiyor started 40 games in his career at Alabama, but he'd also suffered a knee injury in 2021 that caught the attention of teams at the NFL combine and dropped Ekiyor down draft boards. Ekiyor dealt with a knee injury for a couple of days in training camp, and he wasn't able to rise up the depth chart at the position.
Indianapolis also released veteran defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, who spent four years as a key rotational player with the Colts, signed with Chicago in free agency for the 2022 season and returned to Indianapolis this offseason, although he faced a crowded defensive end group ahead of him.
Colts 2023 roster moves
Injured reserve
LB JoJo Domann
DE Titus Lep
Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform
RB Jonathan Taylor
NFL suspension
Cut
LB Liam Anderson
WR Tyler Adams
WR Kody Case
S Marcel Dabo (expected back on practice squad as part of NFL's International Player Pathway program)
RB Kenyan Drake
G Emil Ekiyor
RB Jake Funk
TE Nick Eubanks
S Ronnie Harrison Jr.
K Lucas Havrisik
RB Jason Huntley
TE Michael Jacobson
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
LB Donavan Mutin
CB Darius Rush
DT Caleb Sampson
OT Dan Skipper
WR Michael Strachan
CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart
CB Kevin Toliver II
T Matthew Vanderslice
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts roster cuts tracker ahead of Tuesday’s NFL deadline
