After waiving cornerback Dallis Flowers on Monday, the Indianapolis Colts announced that they’ve signed cornerback David Long from the practice squad to the 53-man roster to take Flowers’ place.
The Colts originally signed Long to the practice squad prior to Week 1 of the regular season.
At 5-11 – 196 pounds, Long was a third-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. Coming into this season, he had appeared in 67 games in his career with 43 starts.
In 2023, Long spent time with Carolina, Green Bay, and Las Vegas. He played 193 combined defensive snaps with the Panthers and Raiders and was a special teams contributor with the Packers.
Before joining the Colts in early September, Long spent the offseason with the New York Giants.
Over his career, Long has been a sound tackler, making 92 of his 103 tackle attempts, according to PFF. In coverage, he’s allowed a completion rate of 68.8 percent on 109 targets at 12.2 yards per catch with one interception and six pass breakups.
He has also played 559 career special teams snaps and won a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021.
This season with the Colts, Long was elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster in Weeks 4 and 5. He’s played 12 snaps on teams and no defensive snaps.
The addition of Long to the 53-man roster gives the Colts much-needed depth at the cornerback position. Although Sam Womack was sharing time with Flowers opposite of Jaylon Jones, I will guess that Womack will be the full time starter with Long available off the bench if needed.
With an opening on the practice squad following the addition of Long to the active roster, the Colts brought back running back Trent Pennix.
Pennix spent the offseason and a portion of training camp with the Colts before being waived/injured following the first preseason game. He was then signed to the practice squad last week with Jonathan Taylor not practicing and was released on Saturday prior to the game against Jacksonville.