The Indianapolis Colts added some speed to the secondary after waiver claims were processed following 53-man roster cuts, landing former Philadelphia Eagles safety Kapena Gushiken.
At the same time, two former Colts found new homes elsewhere. Defensive tackle Colby Wooden was claimed by the New Orleans Saints, and placekicker Blake Grupe was claimed by the New York Jets.
Gushiken comes to Indianapolis as an undrafted rookie safety out of Ole Miss. The 5-10, 189-pound defensive back spent the offseason with Philadelphia and showed up often in the preseason. He posted five tackles, including four solo stops, against the Baltimore Ravens in the opener, followed that with five tackles, two solo, against the New England Patriots, and finished with six tackles, all six solo, in the Eagles’ preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He is viewed as a safety/nickelback at the next level, and his NFL.com draft profile paints the picture of a player with real movement skills. The profile says, “Gushiken is extremely fast with above-average balance and change-of-direction quickness in man coverage.
He can stay relatively sticky to routes at all three levels. He does lose track of the clues quarterbacks provide at times, which helps explain his average ball production relative to his athletic ability.
He’s compact, tough and willing in run support but will still give way to size on occasion. Overall, Gushiken is scheme-diverse as a nickelback.
He has enough cover talent and special-teams value to compete for a roster spot.”
The athletic testing backs up the speed. Gushiken posted a RAS of 9.16 out of 10.0 and ran a 4.35 forty, a number that stands out immediately and should give him a shot to help on special teams coverage.
Indianapolis entered this move with only four safeties on its 53-man roster, and the group includes Cam Bynum, AJ Haulcy, Hunter Wohler, and Jonathan Owens. The Colts had carried five safeties at times before, so Gushiken gives them another body in the room. The remaining question is who Indianapolis moved off the roster, or to injured reserve, to make the space for him.
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