Tag: daurice fountain

Colts place RB Marlon Mack on IR, elevate WR Daurice Fountain

Colts add Fountain to the roster.

The Indianapolis Colts elevated WR Daurice Fountain to the active roster and placed running back Marlon Mack on the injured reserve list. They also signed running back Darius Anderson to the practice squad.

The move was inevitable for the Colts to put Mack on the injured reserve list after he suffered a torn Achilles in the team’s Week 1 opening loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mack’s season is over and it will be interesting to see if the team will make him a cheap, one-year offer when he’s recovered.

Fountain joins the active roster after being waived at roster cuts and then re-signed to the practice squad. That now makes seven wide receivers on the active roster for the Colts.

Anderson has spent some time with the Colts as a camp body and now returns as depth for the backfield. The Colts will be running with the trio of Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins.

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Colts release WR Daurice Fountain

Daurice Fountain among those released.

As the Indianapolis Colts continue to trim down their roster to 53 players by Saturday afternoon’s deadline, it seems wide receiver Daurice Fountain will be among those who failed to make the initial roster.

Fountain, who had a solid camp, was vying for the final spot in the wide receiver room. Despite Marcus Johnson dealing with an injury for the majority of camp, Fountain is the one who gets let go.

Depending on how much interest Fountain gets after being released, the Colts are likely to try to bring the former fifth-round pick back to the practice squad, especially with the rules expanded to 16 players.

Fountain, a fifth-round pick in 2018, didn’t make much of an impact his rookie season. He looked strong during his second training camp in 2019 but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in training camp. Now, the Northern Iowa product will either sign with a new team or come back to the practice squad in Indy.

3 Colts with most to prove in training camp

These Colts have something to prove at training camp.

Training camp is where players make their impressions on the coaching staff and make their case on making the Week 1 roster. For the Indianapolis Colts, they have a number of players with something to prove.

This year’s training camp will be a lot more competitive with how different the offseason has been. No OTAs, no mini or rookie camps, and no preseason leave very little reps for players to make their mark.

>>>Observations from Wednesday’s training camp practice<<<

Here are three Colts with the most to prove as the Colts continue to ramp up work in training camp:

QB Jacob Eason

For the fourth-round pick, many would assume Eason would just have a roster spot, but that isn’t the case. Chris Ballard said during the offseason that Eason and Chad Kelly will be in a battle for the third quarterback spot.

Eason was considered to be possibly a late-first, or early second-round pick, but questions about his work ethic, lack of college experience and no real pro day had him fall in the draft.

Ballard hasn’t shied away from cutting draft picks early. He cut Zach Banner after camp the same offseason he drafted Banner in the fourth round. Eason has to put his best foot forward in the limited snaps he gets in camp to get a roster spot.

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How many WRs will the Colts keep on the 53-man roster?

How many WRs the Colts keep will be a major factor.

One of the toughest decisions a front office has to make every year is how to configure their roster at the end of the preseason. This year will be no different for the Indianapolis Colts with all the different things going on in the world.

The Colts will be in an interesting spot, especially with how they’ll cut down their offense. Expectations are they’ll keep three quarterbacks and a fullback on the roster, something most teams don’t do. Although the new rule about a protected practice squad could change things.

The wide receiver position is one that has several questions surrounding it in terms of construction. Let’s look at how many wide receivers the Colts should keep going into the 2020 season:

The Locks

The players that should be a guarantee to make the roster are T.Y. Hilton, Parris Campbell, Michael Pittman, and Zach Pascal. Hilton and Pascal have proven to be solid receivers in the NFL, and Campbell and Pittman are both second-round picks that are still very young and have time to develop. Their skill sets also perfectly matchup with their roles.

These four wide receivers should be considered locks for roster spots, barring an injury that would keep them off of the active roster.

Fighting for a spot

Here is where it gets messy for the Colts. It all depends on whether they keep five or six receivers, but there will be a few guys fighting for those spots.

Marcus Johnson was a player the Colts traded for in 2018. Johnson contributed late last year when injuries hit the group.

Daurice Fountain has one of the longer shots to make the roster. A fifth-round pick in 2018, he was having a solid training camp last year before suffering an ankle injury at the end of camp. Fountain needs to show he’s fully healthy and can contribute now.

Ashton Dulin was on the roster at the end of the 2019 season but spent the majority of the time as the special teams gunner. Dulin has an upper hand on most of these guys because of his strong play as a special teamer.

Dezmon Patmon is the last of the back end receivers that will be fighting for a spot. Patmon also is a long shot to make the roster because, like Fountain, he was a late-round pick by the Colts in the 2020 draft. Coming from Washington State, he wasn’t asked to have a diverse route tree, so he has a ways to develop before truly competing for a spot.

Conclusion

Since Ballard has taken over as GM, the Colts have kept six receivers all three years, and I would expect the same this year. With the injuries the Colts dealt with and the depth of the position, expect six receivers to make the 53-man roster in September.

3 Colts most impacted by limited offseason workouts

These three Colts have to overcome a limited offseason.

With all that is going on in the world, everyone has been impacted in some form or fashion by COVID-19. The same can be said for the NFL as there have been no on-field workouts since the new league year started back in March.

With no on-field workouts, no preseason, and a very limited training camp, players will be impacted by the NFL having to change their offseason schedule.

Here are three Colts that will be most impacted by the limited offseason on-field work:

WR Daurice Fountain

For Fountain, he needed these offseason workouts on the field to show he has fully recovered from the ankle injury he suffered at the end of the 2019 training camp. Even if it were a long shot for Fountain, he was making plays last year in camp and in the preseason, and he was making a strong case to make the roster last year before the injury.

Now he’s in a battle with some other receivers for one of the last spots on the roster. One thing working against him is the Colts haven’t seen him on the field in somewhat live-action since last August, so they don’t know where he is at physically. Also, he was a fifth-round pick in 2018, so there isn’t a high investment from the team keeping him on the roster.

Fountain really needed the on-field workouts and training camp to show he’s ready to make an impact and he’s fully healthy. Now, the pressure will be on over the next month.

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4 Colts with the most to lose at training camp

These Colts need a strong showing at training camp.

The Indianapolis Colts are expecting to begin training camp on July 28 and while we don’t know what’s in store after that, there are still topics to discuss in the coming weeks.

As it is with every training camp, the Colts will have a number of position battles to watch. Some are more important than others, but there are always players with more to lose than their teammates on the roster.

That could come in the form of simply losing a starting role or it could result in them losing a roster spot altogether.

With training camp less than two weeks away, here are four Colts with the most to lose:

RB Marlon Mack

This is an instance where Mack will most certainly be on the roster regardless of what happens during training camp. However, we have to keep in mind the battle that will be going on for the RB1 role in the backfield.

I’ve long maintained the position that Mack and rookie Jonathan Taylor will split early-down work to begin the season. Mack is too talented and explosive to keep off the field. That said, he’s also going up against the type of competition that puts his future with the organization in doubt.

So while I keep the optimistic approach that Mack will keep a fair role in the backfield, we must also realize just how much the Colts like Taylor. It isn’t likely that the rookie takes a three-down role right away. That’s not in the plans.

But it would be naive to say that Mack will automatically retain a lion’s share of the work simply because he has been the starter. He has a lot on the line when training camp begins.

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Colts WR Daurice Fountain signed his ERFA tender

Daurice Fountain signed his tender.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Daurice Fountain signed his exclusive rights free agent tender, the team announced Tuesday.

Fountain is now under contract on the one-year deal, which is worth $675,000 for the 2020 season. The former fifth-round pick has had a rough start to his career but there is promise he can bounce back.

Seemingly primed for a role in the offense during training camp, Fountain was enjoying plenty of success. But he suffered a dislocated ankle that ended his season before it could even begin.

Now, Fountain will be returning on a one-year deal while competing for a spot in the room. The Colts haven’t made any additions to the wide receiver room in free agency but they could still do so in a small way. Most are expecting the Colts to hit the draft hard at the wide receiver position.

When looking at the depth chart, Fountain is probably sitting somewhere at WR4 behind T.Y. Hilton, Zach Pascal and Parris Campbell. Depending on how many wide receivers are brought in this offseason, Fountain could be fighting for his roster spot again.

Regardless, he will have the chance to do so having signed the ERFA tender on Tuesday.

Report: Colts place tender on ERFA WR Daurice Fountain

Colts are bringing back Daurice Fountain.

The Indianapolis Colts are placing a tender on exclusive rights free agent wide receiver Daurice Fountain, per Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.

Given that he was an exclusive rights free agent, the Colts have total control over Fountain’s contract. Once they extend the tender to the player, they have to sign the deal or sit out the season. Teams can’t contact tendered ERFAs.

The Colts had to place the tender on Fountain—and any other restricted or ERFAs—before the new league year begins on Wednesday. If they didn’t, Fountain would become an unrestricted free agent.

Fountain is a promising young wide receiver who saw his 2019 season end during training camp when he suffered a dislocated ankle. He was making his way toward a roster spot before suffering the season-ending injury.

Fountain was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft out of Northern Iowa.

WATCH: Colts WR Daurice Fountain progressing from ankle injury

Can Daurice Fountain break through in 2020?

There were some high hopes that wide receiver Daurice Fountain would find a role in the wide receiver room for the Indianapolis Colts, but all of that was shot down when he suffered a broken ankle during training camp.

It was an unfortunate end to the season—before it even began—for the second-year wideout. He underwent surgery during training camp and has been progressing since then. Fountain was recently cleared for field activities and gave an update on that progress with a video from his Twitter account.

Fountain was having a strong training camp before suffering the season-ending injury. It wasn’t clear what type of role he was going to have in the room, but he had a promising start to the preseason.

The Colts have a massive need at the wide receiver position this offseason and while there are likely to be some new faces joining the room, Fountain should be competing for a role once he’s allowed to practice with the team.

His timetable for return isn’t yet clear, but it is apparent he is making progress.