Tag: Jake Witt

Colts’ OT and former draft pick Jake Witt announces retirement

Colts’ OT and former draft pick Jake Witt announced that he would be retiring from football.

After being released by the Colts’ on Tuesday during roster cutdowns, offensive tackle Jake Witt announced on Facebook that he would be retiring from football.

“After a great deal of thought and consideration, I’ve decided, due to personal reasons and consideration for my long-term health, to move past football and into the next chapter of my life,” Witt said.

Witt was a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2023 out of D-II Northern Michigan. He came to the NFL as a raw prospect who needed time to develop, but at 6-7 – 302 pounds and with elite athleticism, he possessed a ton of upside.

Unfortunately, Witt would miss his rookie season after being placed on season-ending IR last August with a hip injury. His pursuit of a roster spot this season was not an easy one, with the Colts returning both starting tackles from 2023, along with Blake Freeland–a fourth-round pick by the Colts in 2023–and the addition of rookie Matt Goncalves.

GM Chris Ballard mentioned before training camp began that the backup swing tackle role would be one of the more intriguing competitions this summer. But right from the start, that was just a two man battle between Freeland and Goncalves.

Joel Erickson of the Indy Star would report that Witt had offers to join not only the Colts’ practice squad but several other practice squads as well.

Colts reportedly waiving OT Jake Witt as part of roster cuts

With roster cutdowns taking place, the Colts are reportedly waiving offensive tackle Jake Witt. Here is what you need to know.

As part of roster cutdowns taking place, the Colts are reportedly waiving second-year offensive tackle Jake Witt, according to Joel Erickson of the Indy Star.

In an offensive line room where the Colts are returning all five starters, along with adding tackle Matt Goncalves and interior lineman Tanor Bortolini in the draft, this quickly became a crowded room.

Prior to training camp beginning, GM Chris Ballard mentioned that the backup swing tackle role was up for grabs, however, from the jump, Witt was never a part of that battle. That was a competition solely between Goncalves and Blake Freeland.

Witt was a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2023 out of D-II Northern Michigan. He came to the NFL with a raw skill-set but impressive size at 6-7 – 302 pounds and excellent athleticism, posting a near-perfect RAS of 9.80.

As a rookie, Witt was placed on injured reserve prior to rosters being set last summer, which ended his first season prematurely. Realistically this summer, he was the fifth tackle on the depth chart, behind Bernhard Raimann, Braden Smith, Freeland and Goncalves.

Erickson adds that the Colts hope to be able to sign him to the practice squad this season if he clears waivers. If Witt were to be claimed, he would have to be added to that team’s 53-man roster.

There is still a ton of developmental upside that the Colts will hope to unlock.

Colts’ 2023 draft class ranked near bottom by CBS Sports

CBS Sports ranked the Colts’ 2023 draft class near the bottom of the league.

The Indianapolis Colts came out of the 2023 NFL draft with their biggest haul of the Chris Ballard era, which included several high-potential players at positions of need.

While there is still much promise surrounding the class, the 12-player draft haul didn’t have as big of an impact due to the amount of injuries that hit the group of rookies.

That is largely why CBS Sports had the Colts at No. 25 in their ranking of the 2023 draft classes across the league.

Year 1 hits: WR Josh Downs

Downs was a spark underneath for Gardner Minshew with 68 snags for 771 yards with two scores. JuJu Brents was average at his very best at corner, and fifth-round tight end Will Mallory turned in 18 receptions for 202 yards. Other than that, the Colts did not get much impact from the rest of their huge, 12-pick class. Of course Anthony Richardson waits to return from an early-season shoulder injury.

When it was all said and done, the Colts wound up selecting 12 players in the 2023 draft. Before they entered the regular season, three of those selections suffered season-ending injuries.

Safety Daniel Scott tore his ACL in OTAs, offensive tackle Jake Witt suffered a hip injury that placed him on season-ending injured reserve in August and edge rusher Titus Leo suffered an undisclosed knee injury that forced him to spend the entire season on the injured reserve list at the time of roster cuts.

Then, running back Evan Hull suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. Cornerback Julius Brents missed the entire spring workouts due to wrist surgery and didn’t make his season debut until Week 3 due to a hamstring injury.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson missed 1.5 games due to a concussion and then suffered the season-ending shoulder injury while Josh Downs picked up a knee injury halfway through the season that clearly limited his play during the second half.

It was a tough break to see so many rookies deal with injuries, especially given how vital it is for Day 3 picks to get their careers off to hot starts.

Regardless, it will be an important season for the majority of the class in Year 2 as they all look to prove these injuries won’t hinder their development.

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Colts place draft pick Jake Witt on season-ending IR

Jake Witt has been placed on the season-ending injured reserve list.

Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Jake Witt was placed on the injured reserve list, among other roster moves, the team announced Saturday.

Witt, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, has been dealing with a hip injury. Because he was placed on the injured reserve list before the 53-man roster was finalized, he is forced to miss the entire season.

Before his injury during the first week of training camp, Witt was working as the left tackle on the second-team offense. Witt is the second Colts draft pick to suffer a season-ending injury after safety Daniel Scott tore his ACL during OTAs.

Among the other moves the Colts made Saturday included signing tight ends Nick Eubanks and Michael Jacobson and waiving running back Toriano Clinton.

6 things to know about Colts rookie OT Jake Witt

Get to know Colts rookie OT Jake Witt.

The Indianapolis Colts used their final selection in the 2023 NFL draft on offensive tackle Jake Witt, a prospect who will certainly be viewed as a project entering the NFL.

The Northern Michigan product has an intriguing path to the NFL considering his newness to the game of football and his unorthodox path through the college ranks.

Here’s a look at six things to know about the player selected with the No. 236 overall pick:

1 thing to know about each Colts’ 2023 draft pick

Here is one thing to know about each of the Colts’ 2023 draft picks.

The Indianapolis Colts recently added 12 new players to their roster in the 2023 NFL draft.

Each player drafted is different whether ranging from their background and walks of life to their skill sets on the field.

With that, here’s one thing to know about each of the Colts’ selections in the 2023 NFL draft:

Colts sign 7 draft picks from 2023 class

Seven of the Colts’ draft picks are now under contract.

The Indianapolis Colts signed seven of their selections from the 2023 NFL draft, the team announced Friday.

With the rookie minicamp starting up, the majority of the Day 3 picks are now under contract. Only five of the draft picks remain unsigned, and sometimes this process takes a little time for the players with higher draft capital.

It just so happens that these seven players are the final seven players selected in the draft for the Colts.

Here’s a look at the seven draft picks who signed their rookie deals Friday:

Introducing the Colts’ 2023 NFL draft class

Colts fans, here is your 2023 NFL draft class!

The Indianapolis Colts have concluded their selections in the 2023 NFL draft, and now we can sit back and look at the class in its entirety.

Looking to reset the organization, the Colts brought in a potential franchise quarterback in the form of Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick. After addressing some major needs on Day 2, the Colts added a ridiculous amount of depth with elite athletes across the roster.

In total, there were 12 selections overall—a record for general manager Chris Ballard. That broke the previous record during Ballard’s tenure from the 2018 class (11).

From the QB1 to their final pick in the seventh round, here is the 2023 draft class for the Colts:

What the Colts are getting in OT Jake Witt

What the Colts are getting in OT Jale Witt.

The Indianapolis Colts have finally made their final selection of the 2023 NFL draft with the pick of Jake Witt.

The small school tackle out of Northern Michigan would’ve had the best broad jump (10’3′”) among all offensive linemen over the last 10 years if he performed at the combine.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, he is bringing the athletic traits that Chris Ballard loves in draft prospects with him to Indy. He has great to elite testing numbers and his RAS score ranks as the 27th best among offensive tackle prospects since 1987.

Witt is a super raw prospect because he has only played the position for one full season after playing tight end before he was pushed into the offensive line due to injuries. His athleticism helped him find success after switching, he can mirror pass rushers, handle pass rushers that like to attack with their arms, and has the agility to work to the second level.

He’ll need some time to get more comfortable playing the position. There is an obvious reason why his technique is inconsistent but he’s a mold of clay for Tony Sparano Jr. to play with. This is a seventh-round dart throw for the Colts who will likely develop on the practice squad and time will only tell if he can at least develop into a backup offensive lineman.

2023 NFL draft: Colts select OT Jake Witt with No. 236 pick

BREAKING: The Colts select Northern Michigan OT Jake Witt with the No. 236 pick.

The Indianapolis Colts selected Northern Michigan offensive tackle Jake Witt with the No. 236 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Witt is the epitome of a project. He has only 13 starts at offensive tackle in his career, but he has intriguing size and athleticism for the position. He’s only faced Division-II competition so teams may hold off using a draft pick on him.

Witt likely got on the radar of NFL teams after he had a strong workout at his pro day.

At 6-foot-7 and 302 pounds, Witt measured in with 33.5-inch arms. He also posted a 4.89 in the 40-yard dash with a 1.71 10-yard split, a 37-inch vertical and a 10-foot-3-inch broad jump.

Witt played basketball at Michigan Tech in 2018, took a year off from sports and joined the Northern Michigan football team just before the pandemic hit in 2020. He started out as a tight end and then moved to the right tackle position near the end of the season.

Witt then started all 11 games in 2022 at left tackle for Northern Michigan.

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