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Colts placed Jonathan Taylor on IR, waived DE Ifeadi Odenigbo and added a pair to the practice squad.
As expected, the Indianapolis Colts placed running back Jonathan Taylor on the injured reserve list Tuesday due to the ankle injury he suffered in Week 15.
It wasn’t the only move the Colts made, though, and there was at least one mildly surprising move that involved the release of a productive, rotational defensive end in the form of Ifeadi Odenigbo. The Colts also made some moves to the practice squad.
Here’s a recap of the moves the Colts made Tuesday, some of which had already been covered:
These six Colts need a strong showing in the preseason finale.
The Indianapolis Colts are set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night for the preseason finale.
While the starters will see the field for roughly the entire first half of the game, this is the final chance for the fringe players on the roster bubble to make their case for a spot on the 53-man roster.
The Colts will have until Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET to cut the roster down to 53 players ahead of the Week 1 opener against the Houston Texans.
Here are six Colts on the roster bubble who need a strong showing in the preseason finale:
Here is the stock report from the Colts’ preseason loss to the Lions.
The Indianapolis Colts got through their second preseason game with a 27-26 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Without the majority of starters on the field, the Colts got a good look at the deeper parts of the depth chart. On both sides of the ball, we saw some players raise their stock with one preseason game left. We also saw some players lower their stock going into the preseason finale.
The stock reports are always fluid. It changes from player to player. A factor that might damage the stock of one player may not have the same impact on another. Most of it is circumstantial, and things can change on a dime in the NFL.
But with the second preseason game now behind us, here is a look at the stock report from Saturday’s loss:
Yannick Ngakoue and Kwity Paye lead the edge rushers into Colts training camp.
The Indianapolis Colts officially report to Westfield for the start of training camp in just over a week’s time where the defensive ends look to form a group that vaults the defense into a new tier.
The defense will be brought along by new coordinator Gus Bradley, who replaces Matt Eberflus. Bradley’s aggressive scheme will feature assignments from edge rushers that focus solely on getting upfield and impacting the quarterback.
The Colts made a big addition to the room this offseason via trade when they added Yannick Ngakoue while they hope a pair of their second-year players will take a jump.
For positional purposes, we are going to include Dayo Odeyingbo with the interior defensive line players even though he could see an equal amount of time on the edge as well.
Be sure to check out the other position previews ahead of training camp:
With training camp’s report date set for July 26, here’s our preview of the edge rushers:
Colts officially signed DE Ifeadi Odenigbo.
The Indianapolis Colts signed defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, the team announced Wednesday.
Because of the shocking retirement of safety Khari Willis, the Colts didn’t need to make a corresponding move in order to make room for Odenigbo on the roster.
The former seventh-round pick is likely going to be competing for a roster spot or a place on the practice squad throughout training camp and the preseason.
In 41 career games (15 starts), Odenigbo has recorded 10.5 sacks, 31 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss.
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Here are six things to know about Ifeadi Odenigbo.
The Indianapolis Colts signed free-agent defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo on Monday, adding some depth to the defensive line before the team returns for training camp at the end of July.
Here are six things to know about newest addition to the front seven:
The Colts are signing DE Ifeadi Odenigbo.
The Indianapolis Colts are reportedly signing free-agent defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
A former seventh-round pick with the Minnesota Vikings in 2017, Odenigbo has bounced around to a few teams since entering the NFL out of Northwestern.
The #Colts are signing veteran DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 13, 2022
In 41 career games (15 starts), Odenigbo has recorded 10.5 sacks, 31 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss.
His best season came in 2019 during his second stint with the Vikings. He recorded 7.0 sacks and seven tackles for loss—both of which are career-highs. The following season with Minnesota, he recorded only 3.5 sacks but 15 quarterback hits, a career-high in that area.
In 2021, Odenigbo appeared in nine games (no starts) with the Cleveland Browns but didn’t record a sack.
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Not everyone was sad to see Sugarman go
It would seem as if not everyone was surprised by the recent firing of Minnesota Vikings longtime head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who was drafted by the Vikings in 2017, raised eyebrows with a tweet after hearing the news that his former team was moving on from the trainer after 16 long years.
His tweet appeared to be aimed at those attempting to paint Sugarman’s tenure with the team in a positive light. The trainer’s exit even elicited a public statement from Owner/President Mark Wilf. And yet, according to Odenigbo, there is more than meets the eye with Sugarman.
“Eric Sugarman was not a good man so what ever narrative you guys think of him it’s been fabricated,” tweeted Odenigbo.
Eric Sugarman was not a good man so what ever narrative you guys think of him it’s been fabricated
— Ifeadi The Storyteller (@IfeadiOdenigbo) March 7, 2022
Former Viking and current Michigan Panther for the USFL, Jeff Badet, shared Odenigbo’s post and added explanation points in a retweet.
It would seem as if Sugarman isn’t leaving his job in Minnesota on good terms with everyone. If there truly was an issue, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell deserve a lot of credit for weeding it out and moving their football team in a more positive direction.
It’s out with the old and in with the new in Minnesota.
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While you watch Odenigbo’s sacks with the Vikings, can’t help but wonder if he can help the Browns get pressure and provide rest for the team’s top rushers?
In a corresponding move to placing WR Jarvis Landry on injured reserve, the Cleveland Browns signed defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo to their active roster. The team was able to add Odenigbo to their initial practice squad after 53-man rosters were set at the end of the preseason.
His addition wasn’t the team taking a chance on a young player who hadn’t produced in the league. Instead, Odenigbo had a breakout year in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings and followed it up by starting 15 games for the team in 2020.
While his sack total dropped from 7.0 in 2019 down to 3.5 in 2020 some of that was due to Danielle Hunter, the Vikings’ top pass rusher, missing all of last year.
Odenigbo is a Centerville, Ohio native who was once claimed by the Browns but never saw the field in a regular-season game. While he may never be a full-time starter in the NFL, his production in two seasons with Minnesota showed some quality play:
All of Ifeadi Odenigbo's sacks from the last 2 seasons
Some come from the inside, some as an EDGE…some are coverage sacks
Odenigbo lined up 944 times as a 4i-t or outside over the last 2 seasons and 137 inside
He'll attempt to carve out a role in a now crowded EDGE room pic.twitter.com/oUNcdbBOHb
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) May 21, 2021
As you can see, Odenigbo won with a variety of moves off the edge while showing a good motor to keep pursuing the quarterback.
So far in 2021, Cleveland hasn’t gotten after the quarterback much at all. The team has combined for a total of three sacks despite the additions of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley, Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell to the defensive line that already included Myles Garrett.
One of those sacks belongs to Joe Jackson who was able to get after Patrick Mahomes late in the third quarter of Week 1. Unfortunately for Jackson, that sack was one of only 18 plays that he has seen on defense. While Garrett and Clowney have had over 90 snaps each and McKinley has over 50, the team hasn’t found a use for Jackson much.
Could Odenigbo, who was with Kevin Stefanski during his best season in 2019, provide some relief to the top edge rushers and keep them fresh? Will defensive coordinator Joe Woods find a way to have three or four of those guys on the field more often to try to create pressure?
Odenigbo proved in 2019, with Hunter rushing the passer with him, that he can get after the quarterback. The Browns would love to see some of that in Cleveland sooner rather than later.
A quick getting to know the Browns newest practice squad addition. The one-time Brown, from Centerville, Ohio has a chance to revitalize a career:
The Cleveland Browns are less than a week away from kicking off the much anticipated 2021 NFL season with a Week 1 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. That doesn’t mean they are done making roster additions. With a 53-man roster and a 16-man practice squad, expect the team to continue to make moves throughout the season.
The extended 17-game regular season makes it vital that the Browns have reserves that can play if and when injuries occur. With a Super Bowl goal in mind, Cleveland is hoping to play 20 or 21 games this season. That requires a lot of depth and a lot of luck.
The team added another player to their practice squad today, a familiar name:
We have signed DE Ifeadi Odenigbo to our practice squad.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 6, 2021
Odenigbo was one of only a few names from outside the organization that we had predicted for the team’s practice squad last week.
With Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley, Cleveland is expecting a lot from their edge rushers. Only Joe Jackson, after being waived and then brought back, is around for depth.
In 2021, like in 2020, teams are able to bring players up from the practice squad on game days. Odenigbo joins Porter Gustin and Curtis Weaver as edge rushers that could be called up.
With his best season coming in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has a history with the most recent signing. That season, he put up seven sacks, seven tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits. Ogenigbo wasn’t able to build on those numbers as a starter in 2020.
The former one-time Brown (claimed by the team in 2018 for a short time) is from Centerville, Ohio and gets a chance to revitalize his career in his home state for a team competing for a Super Bowl.
The Browns practice squad is now full at 16 players.
