After Week 5, the Colts went back to a familiar name in a bid to patch up their inside linebacker group, bringing Germaine Pratt back for a second stint in Indianapolis.
That move fit a pattern that has become hard to miss. The former disciple of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is back with the Colts, and when Shane Steichen was asked Wednesday whether Indianapolis has developed a habit of chasing Anarumo connections, the head coach didn’t go that far.
“I think there's a lot of discussion that goes back and forth, but any players that we bring in here, we bring ‘em in in the intent that they’re gonna help us get better, whether they were with Lou or not with Lou. Familiarity helps for sure, but we're doing it to make sure we make our team better."
Still, the Colts’ list of additions tells its own story. Since Anarumo arrived as defensive coordinator in the 2025 offseason, Indianapolis has repeatedly dipped into the well of former Bengals from his Cincinnati days. In roughly 18 months, the Colts have added Pratt, linebackers Akeem Davis-Gaither and Joe Bachie, defensive end Carl Lawson, cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt, Mike Hilton, and Xavien Howard, and defensive lineman Josh Tupou.
That’s a long lineup, and it raises the obvious question: how many of those moves have delivered real value? The frustration is bigger than just roster churn. It also points to a trend where Indianapolis keeps reaching for players who were already in Anarumo’s system, even when those players were not especially productive there.
The result is a strange loop. Pratt is back.
Lawson has only made it to the practice squad so far. And the Colts keep betting that familiarity will solve problems that haven’t been solved yet.
The bigger issue is Anarumo himself. His defenses have not consistently produced the kind of numbers that usually justify this level of trust.
His lone statistically strong season as a coordinator came in 2022, when Cincinnati finished sixth in points allowed and 16th in yards allowed. That remains the only season in which an Anarumo defense finished in the top half of the league in either category.
Anarumo has been an NFL defensive coordinator for nine seasons - with the Miami Dolphins in 2015, the Bengals from 2019 through 2024, and now the Colts over the last two - and the repeated roster turnover around him doesn’t point to a scheme that has settled into elite form. At some point, the issue stops looking like bad luck with personnel.
And that’s why the Colts’ ongoing run of former Anarumo players is so hard to square with the results. Steichen isn’t saying it outright, but the pattern is there, and it’s not paying off.
In Other News...
Colts Offense Suddenly Has A Josh Downs Problem Teams Can Exploit
Josh Downs has been one of Daniel Jones most reliable third-down answers, but the attention around him has changed the way defenses are playing Indianapolis. With Alec Pierce out, the Colts have seen more bodies tilted toward Downs, and Shane Steichen has acknowledged that the coverage has forced the offense to adjust on the fly. What had been a quick, dependable outlet has become a spot where defenses are determined to make Jones hold the ball and look elsewhere.
For the Colts, the challenge now is finding ways to free Downs without asking him to win every contested snap by himself. Indianapolis has been working through ways to create more room for him and keep the offense from getting predictable when the money downs arrive. Until that happens, opponents have a clear blueprint for squeezing one of the Colts most trusted targets and making the passing game work harder than it should. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Face A Risky QB Decision As Daniel Jones Loses Support
Daniel Jones second season in Indianapolis has already turned into a referendum on the Colts quarterback plan, and the conversation around it keeps circling back to the same issue: the offense around him is not the one the team hoped it would have. The wide receiver room has been stripped down by injuries and a trade, leaving Jones working with a less imposing supporting cast than the Colts envisioned when they made him their starter.
Still, the instinct to pivot to Anthony Richardson is not as simple as it sounds. ESPNs Ben Solak floated the idea of benching Jones for Richardson, but the case for doing so runs into the same problem the Colts have been dealing with all along - swapping quarterbacks does not automatically fix an offense that is already short on answers. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Face A Lineup Problem Before Titans Showdown
The Colts injury situation tightened again as they worked through the week leading into their AFC South meeting with the Tennessee Titans. Indianapolis already had reason to keep a close eye on its depth chart, and the practice report added more concerns with starters and rotation pieces missing or limited as the team tried to keep the right mix on the field.
Matt Goncalves and Jaylahn Tuimoloau were both limited while being evaluated for concussions, a development that can quickly complicate a game plan up front and on the edge. Jalen Travis and Jaylon Carlies also did not practice because of injuries, and Carlies status looms especially large after already dealing with availability issues, leaving the Colts to juggle their lineup and practice squad options with the Titans game approaching. [Read more 🡒]