Tag: Ethan Fernea

Colts waive two players following additions at WR and DE

Following additions at defensive end and wide receiver, the Colts announced that they waived two players as corresponding moves.

The Colts announced on Wednesday morning that they waived safety Kendell Brooks and waived/injured wide receiver Ethan Fernea.

These moves were made to make room on the roster for defensive end Derek Rivers and wide receiver Greg Ward, both of whom were signed after being in for a workout on Tuesday.

Brooks was signed to a futures deal back in January, and over the last week, had been in and out of practice working through an undisclosed injury.

He played two special teams snaps and 32 defensive snaps in the preseason opener against Denver, with most of his snaps coming near the line of scrimmage. According to PFF, Brooks missed on of his two tackle attempts and allowed two receptions on three targets for 42 yards.

Fernea would play three special teams snaps and 16 snaps on offense in Sunday’s game and had one reception for 18 yards. Nothing has been reported, but he must have sustained an injury of some sort in that game.

For both players, they spent training camp working with the third team offensive and defensive units. Even with all the question marks at safety, Brooks wasn’t in a position to make the roster, and in a crowded receiver room, the same was true for Fernea–especially with both having limited special teams opportunities.

Colts’ training camp roster preview: WR Ethan Fernea

Next up in our Colts’ training camp roster preview is WR Ethan Fernea. Here is a look back at 2023 and what’s ahead in 2024.

Veterans and rookies for the Indianapolis Colts will report for training camp on July 24th, with the first practice taking place on July 25th.

Between now and then I will be previewing the Colts’ 91-man roster with a look back at each player’s 2023 season, along with what’s ahead for 2024.

I’ll be going through the Colts’ roster alphabetically, so up next is wide receiver Ethan Fernea. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

A 2022 undrafted rookie out of UCLA, Fernea is entering his third season with the Colts, having spent the majority of his time on the practice squad. Last season, Fernea saw two snaps on offense and 27 on special teams.

At UCLA, Fernea was listed as a running back, according to PFF, carrying the ball 12 times for 84 yards in his career. He would catch eight passes for 155 yards and two scores, while playing a whopping 718 special teams snaps.

Fernea is listed at 6-0 – 195 pounds and posted a RAS of 5.91 coming out of college.

2024 Season Preview

As I’ve discussed before with other receivers in this preview, with Adonai Mitchell and Anthony Gould joining a position group that already featured Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce, this room has gotten quite crowded.

If the Colts do decide to keep a sixth receiver–which may not be a guarantee, given that nearly 96 percent of their snaps in 2023 came with three or fewer receivers on the field–one would assume that Ashton Dulin will be the favorite to win that role with his special teams experience and the reliable presence he can add to the offense if the Colts are in a pinch.

For Fernea, this means that the practice squad may again be the the likely landing spot. As is the case for any back-end of the roster player, special teams contributions will be vital. With that said, now in his third season with the team, I’m sure the Colts are hoping to continue seeing strides offensively as well.

Colts sign 9 to futures contracts among several roster moves

The Colts made 14 roster moves Monday to begin the 2024 offseason.

The Indianapolis Colts officially got their offseason underway Monday by making several roster moves, including the signings of nine players to Reserve/Future contracts, the team announced.

Along with the nine futures contracts the team signed, all of which include players from the practice squad, the Colts also signed four players to one-year contract extensions while waiving another player. So in total, the Colts made 14 moves.

As is typical protocol following the end of the regular season, the Colts will be preparing to expand their roster to 90 players for the offseason. Much of that includes signing players to futures contracts.

The expansion of the roster to 90 players doesn’t go into effect until the start of the new league year, which is March 13. That’s why it’s technically a reserve contract. It is essentially stating the player will be on the 90-man roster when the time comes.

There is no limit to how many futures contracts the Colts have as long as they are within the 90-man limit when the new league year rolls around.

Here’s a look at the 14 moves the Colts made to begin the offseason:

Colts elevate LB Liam Anderson, WR Ethan Fernea for Week 17

Liam Anderson and Ethan Fernea get called up for Week 17.

The Indianapolis Colts elevated linebacker Liam Anderson and wide receiver Ethan Fernea ahead of the Week 17 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, the team announced Saturday.

Anderson is likely being called up for the game after special teams linebacker Cameron McGrone was downgraded from questionable to doubtful due to an illness.

Fernea will provide depth in the wide receiver room while mostly playing on special teams. The Colts listed wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. as questionable even though he passed the concussion protocol for the second week in a row.

The Colts also are going to be without tight end Andrew Ogletree, who was arrested Friday on two counts of domestic battery. Because they didn’t elevate a tight end, they’ll be rolling with Kylen Granson, Mo Alie-Cox and rookie Will Mallory.

The Colts and Raiders are set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Colts elevate OT Jared Veldheer, WR Ethan Fernea for Week 16

The Colts elevated two players from the practice squad for Week 16.

The Indianapolis Colts elevated offensive tackle Jared Veldheer and wide receiver Ethan Fernea from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of the Week 16 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, the team announced Saturday.

Veldheer was signed to the practice squad on Dec. 11, coming out of retirement. He last played for the Colts in 2020 when he started the wild-card game at left tackle.

With Braden Smith (knee) out for a third consecutive game, the expectation is that rookie Blake Freeland will be the starter again. Veldheer will provide some depth at both tackle spots.

Fernea gets another elevation for the second week in a row after he was signed to the practice squad at the beginning of December. He will likely contribute on special teams.

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Colts elevate WR Ethan Fernea from the practice squad

The Colts also elevated WR Ethan Fernea from the practice squad.

The Indianapolis Colts elevated wide receiver Ethan Fernea from the practice squad to the active roster for the Week 15 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced Friday.

After promoting wide receiver D.J. Montgomery to the active roster, the Colts will now have six wideouts on the gameday roster Saturday when they host the Steelers.

Fernea has been with the Colts since initially signing as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2022 NFL draft. He was placed on the Reserve/Injured list in August and then was waived with an injury settlement a few days later.

Fernea returned to the practice squad in December. This is his first elevation from the practice squad.

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Colts sign WR Ethan Fernea to the practice squad

Ethan Fernea rejoins the practice squad.

The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Ethan Fernea to the practice squad and placed wide receiver K.J. Hamler on the practice squad injured list, the team announced Friday.

It isn’t clear what type of injury Hamler suffered or how long he will be out.

Fernea is plenty familiar with the Colts. He joined the team as an undrafted free agent rookie in 2022 following the NFL draft and spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad.

He signed a futures contract in January and spent the offseason with the team. Fernea was placed on the Reserve/Injured list in August and was waived with an injury settlement on Aug. 10.

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Colts officially sign RB Kenyan Drake, place WR Ethan Fernea on IR

The Colts officially signed RB Kenyan Drake and placed WR Ethan Fernea on the season-ending injured reserve list.

The Indianapolis Colts officially signed running back Kenyan Drake and placed wide receiver Ethan Fernea on the season-ending injured reserve list, the team announced Saturday.

Drake’s agency announced the signing Friday afternoon, adding some veteran depth to the backfield after Zack Moss underwent surgery to repair a broken arm while Jonathan Taylor remains on the PUP list.

Drake is likely to get plenty of run during the preseason while the Colts continue to ride the hot hands at training camp with Evan Hull, Deon Jackson, Jake Funk and Zavier Scott.

The Fernea injury is a bit of a surprise considering it wasn’t reported before this news release. However, the injury is apparently significant enough to the point where Fernea will miss the entire season. He, along with rookie offensive tackle Jake Witt, were both placed on the season-ending list before Saturday night’s training camp practice.

Colts sign WR Ethan Fernea to future contract

The Colts signed WR Ethan Fernea to a Reserve/Future contract.

The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Ethan Fernea to a Reserve/Future contract, the team announced Friday.

Fernea initially joined the Colts during the 2022 offseason as an undrafted rookie free agent out of UCLA. He spent the majority of the season on the practice squad but appeared in one regular-season game—Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans. In that game, he played one offensive snap and nine special teams snaps.

The future contract essentially guarantees Fernea a spot on the roster when it is expanded to 90 players. There is no limit to how many future contracts the Colts sign as long as they are under the 90-player limit.

Here are the other players the Colts signed to future contracts, most of which came immediately after the season ended.

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Colts elevate WRs Dezmon Patmon, Ethan Fernea to active roster

The Colts elevated two WRs from the practice squad for Week 7.

The Indianapolis Colts elevated wide receivers Dezmon Patmon and Ethan Fernea from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced Saturday.

Considering the fact that Keke Coutee has been ruled out due to a concussion, the Colts made sure to bring up some depth for the wide receiver room.

Patmon will likely be working as the fifth wide receiver in the room while Fernea can offer some special teams work as a gunner.

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