The day that many players hate has come and passed when the Indianapolis Colts announced their roster for the 2015 season. Here is the “Final” 53 man roster that the team released on Saturday. Understand that there are likely some moves to be made yet, and some players cut on Saturday will wind up on the practice squad while others will just be looking to land somewhere.
Quarterback:
Andrew Luck
Matt Hasselbeck
The final selections at quarterback produced no surprises. As long as Hasselbeck is able to continue his back-up role I wouldn’t expect any changes for awhile. If the team could find a younger option, this would be one area that they could save money on.
Running Back:
Frank Gore
Dan Herron
Vick Ballard
Josh Robinson
Tyler Varga
This was one of the milder surprises for me. I honestly thought Vick Ballard would not make the cut, not because of ability, but rather because of his injury history. I thought both Robinson and Varga would make it and they did!
Wide Receiver:
Andre Johnson
T.Y. Hilton
Donte Moncrief
Phillip Dorsett
Griff Whalen
Another mild surprise here. I thought Duron Carter would probably have a spot because of his size and potential, but his play in preseason did him no favors and consequently he’ll mostly likely find a spot on another team or practice squad.
Tight End:
Dwayne Allen
Coby Fleener
Jack Doyle
This produced no surprise here, the coaching staff loves the platoon here for their versatility in the offense!
Center:
Khaled Holmes
Jonotthan Harrison
No surprises here, Khaled Holmes was named the started prior to the last preseason game, but don’t be surprised to see Harrison possibly work his way into the starting line-up should Holmes not impress the coaching staff.
Guard:
Todd Herremans
Lance Louis
Joe Reitz
Hugh Thorton
No surprises here as well, but I suspect there may be some more shuffling around on the line.
Tackle:
Anthony Castonzo
Jack Mewhort
Denzelle Good
I didn’t have Good listed on my roster prediction because Reitz has the ability to fill-in and thought maybe they would look at another guard like Arkin.
Defensive Tackle:
David Parry
Nose Tackle:
Zach Kerr
DT, and NT were the biggest surprises for me, with Arthur Jones going to IR and Montori Hughes and Josh Chapman (Cue huge bomb being dropped sound effect here) getting cut, these areas look extremely thin. I suspect there will be some additions here.
Defensive End:
Henry Anderson
Kendall Langford
Earl Okine
No surprises here, especially with Okine getting a lot of playing time in games 3 & 4.
Outside Linebacker:
Trent Cole
Robert Mathis
Jonathan Newsome
Erik Walden
Bjoern Werner
This played out exactly as I thought, although I thought maybe Werner might be traded or released. This is still a possibility and we’ll have to watch this.
Inside Linebacker:
Jerrell Freeman
D’Qwell Jackson
Amarlo Herrera
Nate Irving
Sio Moore
Moore was a surprise addition to the roster prior to deadline, so obviously this caused some shuffling prior to today’s cuts.
Cornerback:
Vontae Davis
Greg Toler
Darius Butler
Jalil Brown
Sheldon Price
D’Joun Smith
Sheldon Price played well enough in preseason and obviously caused the coaching staff to pencil his name in.
Safety:
Mike Adams
Dwight Lowery
Colt Anderson
Clayton Geathers
Winston Guy
I didn’t have Guy on my roster prediction, but again not a surprise as he played well in preseason.
Kicker:
Adam Vinatieri
Punter:
Pat McAfee
Long Snapper:
Matt Overton
Absolutely no surprises here. The Colts have had one of the better special teams units in the league and these three are essential to the core.
