Former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
He’s had quite the up and down experience since entering the league. Shortly after arriving to the Colts facilities for rookie minicamp, Ehlinger was told that his younger brother, Jake, had tragically passed away. After spending a few weeks in Austin, Ehlinger returned to Indianapolis to participate in the final few OTA practices.
Throughout his first NFL training camp, Ehlinger consistently caught the eyes of the coaching staff. Once starting quarterback Carson Wentz was sidelined the entirety of training camp due to a foot injury, Ehlinger was awarded a rare opportunity that he took full advantage of.
Before you know it, the rookie was splitting first-team reps in Indianapolis with second-year quarterback Jacob Eason. Ehlinger was legitimately in the race to secure the backup role behind Wentz, and potentially start the first few games of the season if Wentz wasn’t fully ready to go.
In the Colts’ final preseason game against the Detroit Lions, adversity once again struck Ehlinger. After completing his first three passes, the former Texas star went down with a knee injury and did not return. Colts head coach Frank Reich feared the worst.
Luckily, medical tests showed that Ehlinger’s knee injury would not require surgery nor would be season-ending. He sprained his ACL and is expected to be sidelined for 4-5 weeks.
That happened just days before each NFL team was required to trim their roster down to 53 players. Would Indianapolis choose to keep three quarterbacks on the active roster? Did Ehlinger’s knee injury cause them to think differently?
On Tuesday, the Colts released their 53-man roster and Ehlinger made the cut. Eason will secure the backup role behind Wentz for now, but Ehlinger has the opportunity to pick up where he left off once he returns.
Casual fans may not truly understand the type of player and person that Ehlinger is. He is a true leader on and off the field, and the Longhorns were fortunate to have a player with such high character and role model attributes lead their football program over the last four years.
Ehlinger’s work ethic is hard to come by, and his relentless and competitive nature are what set him apart from others. He possesses every attribute you’d want in a professional athlete. If his number is called, you can bet he’ll be ready.