Tag: Curtis Brooks

Commanders DT David Bada placed on IR with torn tricep

Bada initially came to Washington in 2020.

Defensive tackle David Bada came to the Washington Commanders in 2020 as a part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Bada, a native of Germany, has gone back and forth from Washington’s main roster to the practice squad over the last three seasons.

On Wednesday, Bada tore his tricep, and the Commanders placed him on the reserve/injured list, likely ending his season.

Washington signed defensive tackle Curtis Brooks to replace Bada on the 90-man roster. Brooks is entering his second NFL season. He was a sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2022 NFL draft out of Cincinnati. Brooks was waived during final cuts last summer and re-signed to the practice squad.

The Tennessee Titans signed Brooks off the Colts’ practice squad, and he remained on their roster until he was released last week. He has yet to appear in an NFL game. The 6-foot-2, 285-pound Brooks is 25 years old and was graded highly by Pro Football Focus during his final college season.

Brooks has an uphill climb to make Washington’s 53-man roster. Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, John Ridgeway and Phidarian Mathis are roster locks and make up arguably the strongest position on the roster. Veteran Abdullah Anderson is also on the Commaders’ roster.

Where ESPN ranked production from Colts’ rookie class

The Colts’ 2022 rookie class did not impress ESPN all that much.

The Indianapolis Colts got some decent production from a handful of players within the 2022 rookie class, but ESPN felt it wasn’t sufficient enough to be ranked in the top half of the league.

In fact, ESPN ranked the production of each NFL team’s rookie class, and the Colts came in at No. 21 overall. We also gave end-of-season grades for the rookie class following their first campaign.

Here’s what they said about the 2022 class for the Colts:

“21. Indianapolis Colts

Before the season, nobody would have expected seventh-round pick Rodney Thomas II to be the Colts’ most valuable rookie of 2022. However, the former linebacker grabbed the free safety position early in the season, eventually starting 10 games and garnering four interceptions. Bernhard Raimann started 11 games at left tackle, finishing 40th in RBWR but a poor 60th in PBWR. Wide receiver Alec Pierce started 12 games and finished with 41 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Jelani Woods came on late in the season with 18 catches for 233 yards just in the Colts’ final six games.”

Pierce had a solid rookie season. It was a bit inconsistent, but he showed the necessary flashes of being an impact player on the boundary. Raimann showed a lot of progress down the stretch while Woods was electric every time he touched the football—he just didn’t play enough.

The big surprise, of course, was Thomas. The safety out of Yale took over a starting role early in the season and didn’t look back. His four interceptions as a rookie are the most for a seventh-round pick since 1986 (Bret Clark) and the most for a player drafted No. 200 overall or later since 1992 (Darren Perry)—the draft still had 12 rounds back then.

Two rookies we shouldn’t overlook weren’t drafted, but they still held impactful roles. Cornerback Dallis Flowers out of Pittsburg State led the NFL in yards per kick return (31.1) and was the only qualified player to average over 30 yards per return. He also saw some work on defense late in the season.

Also, linebacker JoJo Domann immediately became a special teams contributor. His 58.2% snap share on special teams was tied for the third-highest on the team with Grant Stuard while his eight special teams stops were also tied for the third-most with E.J. Speed.

The class wasn’t all roses, though. Safety Nick Cross was a highly-valued third-round pick. He began the season as the starter but played six total defensive snaps after Week 2. He was a healthy scratch for the meaningless Week 18 game.

Sixth-round defensive tackle Curtis Brooks out of Cincinnati didn’t play in a regular-season game and was released from the practice squad midseason. He was the first draft pick from the class to part ways with the team.

Fellow sixth-round tight end Andrew Ogletree was catching fire in training camp before tearing his ACL during joint practices with the Detroit Lions. That’s necessarily his fault, of course, but he did miss his entire rookie campaign.

It was a pretty average class overall, but there certainly are some building blocks at some key positions. That should help whoever the next head coach is when it comes to roster building.

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Grading every rookie from Colts’ 2022 draft class

The Colts’ rookie class now has a full season under its belt. Here’s how we graded them.

The 2022 season has come and gone, which means we got a strong look at the Indianapolis Colts’ rookie draft class.

Grading a rookie based on his first season is a bit ridiculous. While some rookies make the transition look easy, it is anything but. There are several factors both on and off the field that impact a player’s performance during his rookie season.

We should also remember that these players, for the most part, are still extremely young. They are still growing up and learning how to deal with the delicate balance of professional sports and life outside of football.

So these grades aren’t concrete, and they certainly can change even as soon as the end of the 2023 season. Think of this more as a review of their rookie campaign with some insight into how they impacted the Colts during their first season.

Here’s a look at the grades for the Colts’ 2022 rookie draft class:

Ex-Colts DT Curtis Brooks signs with Titans practice squad

Colts’ former sixth-round pick DT Curtis Brooks joined the Titans practice squad.

Former Indianapolis Colts rookie defensive tackle Curtis Brooks signed with the Tennessee Titans practice squad Tuesday.

Brooks was a sixth-round pick with the Colts during the 2022 NFL draft but spent the majority of the season on the practice squad. He didn’t get elevated for any games this season before he was waived two weeks ago.

He was the first 2022 draft pick the Colts parted ways with in a class that seemed promising all the way back in April.

Now, he’ll be looking to carve out a role on a formidable Titans defensive line.

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Titans add three to the practice squad

The Titans added two familiar names and one new one to the practice squad on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Titans filled their holes on the practice squad on Tuesday by adding three players to it.

The team announced it has signed outside linebacker Sam Okuayinonu, cornerback Shyheim Carter and defensive tackle Curtis Brooks to the practice squad.

A 2022 undrafted free agent signing of Tennessee, Okuayinonu has spent time on both the active roster and practice squad this season. He has 0.5 sacks and 11 tackles in six games this season.

Carter has been on Tennessee’s practice squad multiple times but has never gotten in a game for the Titans, or in the NFL in general.

Brooks is a brand new addition to the practice squad. A former sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, the Cincinnati product has never played a snap in the NFL.

The Titans will return to the field on Saturday night when they do battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC South title in Duval.

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Colts release sixth-round pick DT Curtis Brooks

The Colts parted ways with one of their 2022 sixth-round picks.

The Indianapolis Colts released defensive tackle Curtis Brooks from the practice squad, the team announced Monday.

A sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, there was some hope after the selection was made that Brooks would carve out a role as an interior pass rusher on the defensive line.

However, Brooks failed to make the initial 53-man roster after training camp and the preseason and spent the entirety of his rookie campaign on the practice squad.

It’s rare for late Day 3 picks in the draft to have long and productive careers, but Brooks’ athleticism gave him a chance to be a rotational player.

Instead, the Colts will part ways with a 2022 draft pick for the first time.

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4 Colts rookies who need more playing time during final four games

These Colts should see more playing time over the final four games.

The Indianapolis Colts have four games remaining on the schedule entering Saturday, and they are essentially out of the playoff race coming out of the bye week.

While interim head coach Jeff Saturday stated the team is focused on winning now rather than evaluating for the future, the team still should put forth the effort to see what they have in some of their younger assets.

Forcing a player to see starting snaps would be an unrealistic scenario, but the Colts should at least begin rotating some of their younger, ascending talents into bigger roles.

With four games remaining, here are four Colts who should see more playing time during the final four games of the regular season:

Colts to sign DT Curtis Brooks to the practice squad

Curtis Brooks returns to the practice squad.

The Indianapolis Colts are expected to sign defensive tackle Curtis Brooks to the practice squad, per Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star.

Until these signings are officially announced by the team, they should be taken with a grain of salt. You can follow along with our tracker, keeping up with every signing.

Brooks was a sixth-round pick for the Colts during the 2022 NFL draft out of Cincinnati. He was considered a sleeper throughout the draft process and even showed some flashes during training camp.

He didn’t do enough to warrant a spot on the initial 53-man roster, but there is still upside that he could turn into a solid contributor down the line with more development.

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7 Colts to watch vs. Lions in preseason Week 2

Here are seven Colts to watch against the Lions in preseason Week 2.

The Indianapolis Colts will host the Detroit Lions on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium as the preseason continues to roll into its second week.

The starting lineups for the Colts aren’t expected to play Saturday with the exception of one or two players, according to head coach Frank Reich. Even with the starters out following two joint practices with the Lions this week, there is plenty to watch.

We already detailed the position battles to keep an eye on during this game.

Now, it’s time to take a look at seven Colts to watch on Saturday:

Colts’ 2022 training camp preview: Defensive Tackle

DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart lead the DTs into Colts training camp.

The Indianapolis Colts are just over a week away from the start of training camp at Westfield where the interior defensive line will boast some strong competition.

The starting spots will remain the same in Gus Bradley’s new defense. It’s the depth roles that will be the ones to watch when the team officially returns from summer break.

Not many additions were made to the interior defensive line outside of two intriguing Day 3 picks in the 2022 NFL draft, and this unit will have a lot of say in the type of production the entire defense has in 2022.

Be sure to check out the other position previews ahead of training camp:

As training camp is set to begin July 27, here’s a preview of the defensive tackles for the Colts: