Tag: Liam Anderson

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 waive RB Jason Huntley, LB Liam Anderson

The Colts are waiving RB Jason Huntley and LB Liam Anderson.

The Indianapolis Colts waived running back Jason Huntley and linebacker Liam Anderson ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for roster cuts, first reported by Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.

Huntley joined the Colts backfield during training camp after Zack Moss went down with a broken arm. He averaged just 1.9 yards per carry in three preseason games.

Anderson joined the Colts this offseason as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Holy Cross. The team hopes to sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

The Colts have until Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET to finalize their initial 53-man roster. You can stay up to date with the latest moves via our tracker.

5 UDFAs with best chance to make Colts’ roster

Taking a look at which undrafted rookie free agents have the best chance to make the Colts roster.

The Indianapolis Colts had the longest active streak of having an undrafted free agent (UDFA) rookie make the 53-man roster, which lasted for 22 years in a row until it ended in 2021.

A new one has potentially started after seeing four UDFA rookies make the team last year. UDFAs face an uphill battle to make the roster because even with a great preseason performance, a general manager can still give the edge to a drafted player or someone they invested money into.

The best pathway for a UDFA to make an NFL roster is to join a position group that lacks depth. With that being considered, here are five UDFAs on Indy’s roster that have the best to be on the team for the season opener:

Colts sign 15 undrafted rookie free agents

The Colts signed 15 undrafted rookie free agent Friday.

The Indianapolis Colts signed 15 undrafted rookie free agents following the 2023 NFL draft, the team announced Friday.

With a 12-player draft class and now 15 undrafted rookie free agents coming in, the Colts will have a massive 27-player rookie class during the spring workouts. The majority of them will likely participate in training camp as well.

Here are the 15 undrafted rookie free agents the Colts signed:

  • LB Liam Anderson, Holy Cross
  • WR Cody Chrest, Sam Houston State
  • CB Cole Coleman, Elon
  • OG Emil Ekiyor, Alabama
  • RB Darius Hagans, Virginia State
  • WR Johnny King, Southeast Missouri State
  • OG Harris Lachance, BYU
  • S Aaron Maddox, Campbell
  • LB Donavan Mutin, Houston
  • CB Tyler Richardson, Tiffin
  • DT Caleb Sampson, Kansas
  • WR Zavier Scott, Maine
  • RB Titus Swen, Wyoming
  • DE Guy Thomas, Colorado
  • WR Braxton Westfield, Carson-Newman

There will be a lot of competition up for grabs as the Colts prepare for training camp in a few months, and several of these names could be in play for the final spots at their respective positions.

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CFFC 98 results: Yohan Lainesse wins belt with body shots; Solomon Renfro scores violent TKO

Yohan Lainesse is the new welterweight champion after a body-shot TKO of Evan Cutts at CFFC 98.

[autotag]Yohan Lainesse[/autotag] claimed the CFFC welterweight title from [autotag]Evan Cutts[/autotag] on Saturday with a stoppage that some viewed as questionable.

After a back-and-forth striking fight for seven minutes, Lainesse (7-0) got the TKO of Cutts (12-5) at the 2:17 mark of Round 1 in the CFFC 98 headliner courtesy of a plethora of body shots.

Referee Gasper Oliver stopped the fight before Cutts dropped to the ground or folded due to the body shots, which caused the now ex-champion to protest in the immediate aftermath.

Nevertheless, Lainesse was awarded the belt to take back home to Canada after the main event bout, which took place at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia and streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Lainesse started the fight with an incredibly high striking output coming from both the hands and feet. Cutts stayed out on the outside and picked his counter shots to damage the face of his opponent. Lainesse began to bleed around the left eye late in the round, and it was revealed post-fight that he’d sustained that cut initially in training camp.

It wasn’t a huge worry for Lainesse apparently, though, because in the second round he came out on fire. He hurt Cutts with a big uppercut after minutes of striking exchanges, and put him in major trouble. Cutts retreated toward the cage while covering his head, so Lainesse teed off to the body.

As Lainesse backed up against the cage, the referee decided he’d seen enough and waved it off.

“I feel amazing,” Lainesse said in his post-fight interview with CM Punk. “The first time in my career I was scared in the locker room. I feel a lot of fear, a lot of stress. A lot of things happened in my life in the last two or three months, but I’m always pushing and I pus myself, my body and my mind. I never stop dreaming, I never stop working and believing.

Renfro puts out Lilly in 69 seconds

[autotag]Solomon Renfro[/autotag] (8-1) continued to build on his prospect status with a violent first-round knockout of [autotag]Lee Henry Lilly[/autotag] in their welterweight bout.

A jab started the final sequence, then Renfro quickly finished the job at the 1:39 mark of Round 1.

Check out the finish (via Twitter):

After the win, a jubilant and confident Renfro, 24, sent a message about his aspirations in MMA.

“UFC, what’s up baby? I’m the future of the sport right here,” Renfro said. “The future of combat sports right here, right now. …. UFC be coming soon. We taking over. You already know.”

Complete CFFC 98 results included:

  • Yohan Lainesse def. Evan Cutts via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:17
  • [autotag]Santo Curatolo[/autotag] def. [autotag]Dilshod Zaripov[/autotag] via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:59
  • Solomon Renfro def. Lee Henry Lilly via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:39
  • [autotag]Ryan Rizco[/autotag] def. [autotag]Feraris Golden[/autotag] via verbal submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:47
  • [autotag]Miles Lee[/autotag] def. [autotag]Liam Anderson[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
  • [autotag]Isa Dalipaj[/autotag] def. [autotag]Tyson Craig[/autotag] via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:57