Tag: George Odum

7 newcomers who could have biggest impact for 49ers in 2022

These newcomers will have the biggest impact for the #49ers in 2022:

The 49ers will always need their stars to show up, but this year’s success could ultimately come down to a handful of newcomers that joined the team this offseason.

While San Francisco returns the likes of Nick Bosa, George Kittle and others, some players added before this season will get opportunities to fill big-time roles and make huge impacts in their first year in red and gold.

Some of the new roles will be bigger than others, but these seven new 49ers will each have a shot to make a huge impact in 2022:

How S Armani Watts fits with the Colts

Taking a look at how S Armani Watts fits into the Colts defense.

The Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday signed free agent safety Armani Watts, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs to a one-year deal.

This acquisition adds young and healthy depth to a safety group that has really thinned out this off-season. With the departure of former All-Pro special teamer and safety George Odum, who signed a three-year deal with San Francisco, snaps are up for grabs at both of those spots this season in Indianapolis.

Watts, 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, also has a history of heavy contribution on special teams in Kansas City under coordinator Dave Toub.

In his 53 games played since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft out of Texas A&M, Watts has only one defensive start while playing nearly 1000 snaps on the special teams unit.

He should slide into a similar reserve role for the Colts and continue to improve an already talented special teams group.

Another big factor that likely led to this signing is the health of starting free safety Julian Blackmon, who tore his Achilles in practice last year. The road to recovery from an Achilles injury is difficult for anyone to put a timetable on, so it makes sense to bring in competition should Blackmon need more time to heal.

With Khari Willis locking down the starting strong safety spot, expect Watts to get time alongside him in training camp until Blackmon is 100% and rotate in behind the two.

The Colts are likely not done adding to a young and relatively inexperienced secondary for the 2022 season. While he may not contribute heavily on defense, Watts could go a long way to helping fill a need on one of the most important, and often overlooked parts of any football team, the special teams unit.

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George Odum posts ‘Thank You’ statement to Colts

Here’s what George Odum said after signing with the 49ers.

Former Indianapolis Colts safety George Odum posted a statement to the organization, fanbase and city after he signed a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

Odum signed a deal worth up to $10 million with the 49ers while the Colts remain to have a massive need for depth at the position. He was an All-Pro First Team selection in 2020 and was one of the key special teamers on the roster.

With Odum gone, the Colts will be in the market for safety depth. Given how often Gus Bradley implements three safeties in his defense, that position is a pretty big need for Indy.

As for Odum, he’ll head to the 49ers where he likely gets a chance to play more on defense than he did with the Colts.

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49ers to sign former Colts safety George Odum

The #49ers’ investment in special teams continues.

The 49ers secondary and special teams units are getting a new addition. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Friday reported former Colts safety George Odum is signing a three-year deal worth $10.95 million with San Francisco.

Odum joined the Colts in 2018 as an undrafted rookie from Central Arkansas. In four years with Indianapolis he carved out a key special teams role and thrived in that spot — earning a First-Team All-Pro nod in 2020. Pro Football Focus’ Jeff Deeney tweeted that Odum posted PFF’s second-highest special teams grade that year.

Last season Odum saw seven starts at safety and started 10 of the 65 games he played there across four seasons. He racked up 150 tackles, one tackle for loss, four pass breakups and two interceptions. Odum’s primary job with the 49ers though will be turning around a special teams unit that was one of the NFL’s worst last season. He’s the second special teams ace San Francisco has signed this offseason, along with former Packers LB Oren Burks.

This likely spells the end of Jaquiski Tartt’s tenure in San Francisco. He’s an unrestricted free agent and Odum figures to be the fourth safety on the roster alongside Jimmie Ward, Talanoa Hufanga and Tarvarius Moore.

Ex-Colts S George Odum signs with 49ers

Colts free agent safety George Odum is heading to the 49ers.

Indianapolis Colts free agent safety George Odum is expected to sign a three-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers, first reported by Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus.

Odum spent most of his time making plays on special teams. He was one of the core players in that phase of the game and was named to the All-Pro First Team for his efforts in 2020.

Odum should have gotten more run as a rotational safety with the Colts and it appears he’ll get that opportunity with the 49ers. His deal is reportedly for three years worth $10.95 million.

The Colts have a need at the safety position and have needed to add to it since free agency began. They have a solid duo in Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon but the latter is coming off of a torn Achilles.

The Colts resorted to adding street free agents like Andrew Sendejo and Jahleel Addae during the 2021 season because their depth was so poor. Why they were reluctant to get Odum more defensive snaps is still a mystery.

Regardless, Odum gets a sweet deal with an NFC contender while the Colts will be searching for his replacement.

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12 pending free agents the Colts should re-sign

Here are 12 pending free agents the Indianapolis Colts should re-sign in 2022.

The Indianapolis Colts are still over a month away from the free agent market opening across the league but they will soon be able to re-sign some of their pending free agents.

Entering the offseason in a solid salary-cap standing, the Colts will have enough money to re-sign a number of players while also being active on the open market. How active they will be is a mystery.

The Colts have a long list of free agents set to hit the market this offseason. Unlike offseasons past, there are a high number of players the Colts should consider re-signing.

They won’t re-sign all of the players on this list but each of them is listed here for a reason.

Here are 12 pending free agents the Colts should consider re-signing this offseason:

1 pending free agent each NFL team should bring back in 2022

NFL free agency 2022 starts just over two months from now. Here’s a look at who teams should keep among their pending free agents.

NFL contracts not signed beyond 2021 expire at 4 p.m. ET March 16, meaning that teams have from the end of the season until that time to sign their pending free agents to contract extensions. A few will get tagged (the franchise tag period begins Feb. 22), some will get extensions, but it’s a good bet most of the players set to reach unrestricted free agency will do so.

But if we were in charge, these are the players we’d keep — one per team as decided by the NFL Wire staff.

6 Colts whose stock rose in 22-16 win over Cardinals

These Colts rose their stock in the 22-16 win over the Cardinals.

With the Indianapolis Colts (9-6) going into State Farm Stadium and coming out with a 22-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals (10-5), we saw several players increase their stock with the team.

Some of it was due to simply showing out during a game that was destined to be sloppy from the start. Others had to step into a bigger role because of recent COVID-19 issues. Regardless, we saw several players increase their stock on Saturday night.

Here are six Colts whose stock rose from the Week 16 win:

Colts overcome Cardinals, 22-16: Instant analysis

Instant analysis of the Colts’ 22-16 win over the Cardinals.

The Indianapolis Colts (9-6) were dealt a rough hand all week leading up to this Christmas match-up with the Arizona Cardinals (10-5).

Many of the Colts’ best players, unfortunately, ended up on the reserve/COVID list, some even just hours before kick-off. Many of these names, including Pro-Bowlers Darius Leonard and Quenton Nelson, alongside most of the starting offensive line and other key starters on both sides of the ball would be out for this game and perhaps even the next in a very close playoff race.

It was looking grim for Carson Wentz, Jonathan Taylor, and company to be able to pull off a win in such a difficult spot and missing so many players, but as the team loves to say it’s simply “Next Man Up” and those men had big shoes to fill. For the most part, the guys did just that, and fought hard all game in a sloppy, back and forth brawl that saw Indianapolis narrowly come out on top and keep hopes of a playoff berth, and perhaps a division title alive.

Here’s our instant analysis from this Christmas night victory:

5 studs from Colts’ 22-16 win over Cardinals

Here are five studs from the Colts’ 22-16 win over the Cardinals.

The Indianapolis Colts (8-6) got through a gutsy 22-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals (10-5) on Saturday night at State Farm Stadium.

Though it may not have been the most aesthetic win, especially with several starters out due to COVID-19, the Colts found a way to get it done while coming up with big plays when they needed it most.

Here’s a look at five studs from the Week 16 win over the Cardinals: