The Indianapolis Colts have set their initial 53-man roster, and the first pass through the cuts brought a few expected names, a few notable survivors, and a handful of decisions that hint at how this group is being shaped heading into the season.
At quarterback, there was no real mystery. The Colts are moving forward with Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson Sr., and Riley Leonard, apparently in that order after Easton Stick was cut on Sunday. That leaves the room exactly as the team seemed prepared to handle it once the dust settled.
Running back followed a similar line of logic, though with one wrinkle. Jonathan Taylor remains the clear workhorse, Seth McGowan has moved up as the No. 2 option, and DJ Giddens beat out Ulysses Bentley IV for the third spot. Giddens’ path is notable because he spent much of training camp limited by a hamstring injury and still had work to do in pass protection, but the Colts seemingly leaned into his rushing ability.
Wide receiver brought one of the more interesting roster calls. Alec Pierce, Keenan Allen, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin, and Laquon Treadwell looked set based on preseason usage, but Indianapolis kept rookie seventh-rounder Deion Burks as well.
That move came with Coleman Owen landing on injured reserve after suffering a concussion on Saturday. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine ended up as the odd man out, while D.J.
Montgomery was also placed on injured reserve.
At tight end, the Colts kept Tyler Warren, Drew Ogletree, and Mo Alie-Cox. Will Mallory, meanwhile, went on injured reserve with a designation to return after a thumb injury, which means he remains part of the organization but will miss at least the first four games of the 2026 regular season.
The offensive line was where the day’s biggest move landed. Indianapolis acquired backup center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger from the Buffalo Bills, and that reshaped the interior depth chart.
Dalton Tucker is now back at center, likely at the expense of Josh Sills, and he joins rookie Jalen Farmer as one of the backup interior linemen. Backup tackle Luke Tenuta was not listed, though he is expected to serve as a backup offensive tackle for at least Week 1, when cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt serves his one-game suspension.
The Colts also moved on from 2023 fourth-round pick Blake Freeland, a strong athlete whose play never consistently matched the tools.
On the defensive line, two rookie edge rushers made strong cases and got rewarded. George Gumbs Jr. and Caden Curry both made the initial roster after impressive preseason showings.
Tim Smith, a 2025 sixth-round pick, also made it, which makes sense given the need for at least one natural backup interior lineman. The bigger surprise may be veteran Jerry Tillery sticking around despite an underwhelming preseason and camp.
The Colts also cut Colby Wooden, whom they had acquired from the Green Bay Packers for Zaire Franklin.
At linebacker, the group held fairly steady with rookies CJ Allen and Bryce Boettcher joining veterans Akeem Davis Gaither, Jaylon Carlies, and Austin Ajiake. The final spot went to undrafted Ole Miss rookie Tahj Chambers, who is expected to contribute right away on special teams.
Cornerback included the names most people expected to see: Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward, Justin Walley, and Cam Taylor-Britt, with Taylor-Britt set to miss Week 1 because of suspension. Johnathan Edwards survived despite a rough preseason, largely because of his special teams value. Jaylon Jones also stayed on, even though the former starter may not fit as naturally in Lou Anarumo’s scheme.
Safety was trimmed down to four players: veteran starter Cam Bynum, projected rookie starter AJ Haulcy, and backups Hunter Wohler and Jonathan Owens. That left Juanyeh Thomas, one of the Colts’ free-agent additions earlier this offseason, off the initial roster.
Daniel Scott was also among the recent cuts after struggling to stay healthy in Indianapolis. The former 2023 fifth-round pick had spent the past three seasons with the team, which had originally had high hopes for him.
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