Titus Leo – Syndication Server

Colts release DE Titus Leo to make room on practice squad for Ronnie Harrison

To make room on the practice squad for Ronnie Harrison, the Indianapolis Colts released DE Titus Leo.

The Indianapolis Colts announced that they signed safety Ronnie Harrison to the practice squad. In order to make room for Harrison, the Colts released defensive end Titus Leo as the corresponding roster move.

Leo was a sixth-round selection by the Colts in the 2023 NFL draft out of small-school Wagner, where he was highly productive during his final two seasons, posting 71 pressures and 10 sacks.

Leo would unfortunately miss his entire rookie season after being placed on season-ending IR following an injury in the Colts’ final preseason game of 2023.

He was with the Colts all offseason and for training camp. Leo only appeared in one preseason game, however, playing 34 defensive snaps in the opener against Denver. According to PFF, Leo made four tackles and had no pressures.

With the depth at safety quite thin for the Colts, an addition at some point felt like a near must, especially with the cornerback depth currently being put to the test already.

Defensive end, on the other hand, is a position of strength for the Colts–both in play and in numbers–which I imagine played a factor in their decision to release Leo.

The Colts still have five defensive ends on the 53-man roster and Genard Avery on the practice squad.

Colts’ training camp roster preview: DE Titus Leo

Up next in our Colts’ training camp roster preview is DE Titus Leo. Here is a look back at 2023 and what’s potentially 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 defensive end Titus Leo. To stay up to date with our other previews, be sure to head over to Colts Wire.

2023 Season Review

Leo was a sixth-round pick by the Colts in the 2023 NFL draft out of Wagner. Leo would appear in all three preseason games last August, totaling 10 tackles and a sack. He would, however, suffer an injury during the final game, which landed him on season-ending IR.

“He’s got speed and toughness,” GM Chris Ballard said. “(Those are) good traits to work with.”

Leo was recruited to be a receiver at Wagner but eventually made the switch to the defensive side of the football. He played over 1,000 defensive snaps during his final two seasons and was highly productive, totaling 71 pressures and 10 sacks. He also graded out very well against the run by PFF’s grading system.

For a bit more on Leo’s game, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote about him in his 2023 pre-draft scouting report:

“Edge defender prospect with long arms, an explosive first punch and room for improvement as a pass rusher. Leo goes hard into first contact and can separate from blocks fairly quickly, but he’s tight-hipped, lacking the bend and the base strength to hold up against power at the point of attack. He challenges the pocket with a variety of rush angles, but his get-off and hand work might not yet be good enough to impress NFL evaluators. Leo might need seasoning on a practice squad.”

2024 Season Preview

Making the Colts’ initial 53-man roster is going to be a tall task, given the depth of this position group. Along with Samson Ebukam, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Kwity Paye all returning, the Colts drafted Laiatu Latu in the first round and re-sign Tyquan Lewis to a two-year deal in the offseason.

Those five players likely make up this position group, unless the Colts decide to go extremely heavy and keep six–which I would consider unlikely right now–but that then likely means keeping only four interior defenders or going lighter at another position.

Fully healthy, Leo is a prime practice squad candidate who can have the opportunity to develop this season after missing out on valuable practice time during his rookie year.

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 placed six players on reserve lists as part of roster cuts

In the process of reducing the roster to 53, the Colts placed six players on reserve lists.

The Indianapolis Colts got their roster down to 53 players ahead of the deadline Tuesday afternoon and in order to do that, a number of players were moved from the active roster to reserve lists.

Being moved to these reserve lists often comes with the consequence of missing games. Whether it’s due to injury or suspension, the Colts wound up having six players transferred to some type of reserve list as a part of the transactions to satisfy the 53-player mandate.

Four players were placed on the Reserve/Injured list, ending their season effectively. One was placed on the Reserve/PUP list, forcing him to miss at least the first four weeks. The other was transferred to the Reserve/Suspended list for the first three weeks.

Here’s a quick look at the players who were not waived or released, but instead placed on a reserve list:

8 toughest cuts from our final Colts’ 53-man roster projection

These were the toughest cuts from our Colts’ final roster projection.

The Indianapolis Colts have until Tuesday afternoon to cut the roster down to 53 players as the preseason officially comes to an end.

This is no easy task, and there will be plenty of surprises along the way. After three preseason games and joint practices with two separate teams, the Colts have to use all the information they’ve gathered to compile the best collection of 53 players moving forward.

The process, of course, doesn’t end with the initial 53-man roster, and it’s likely that changes will come immediately the day after through the waiver wire.

As we went through with our final roster projection ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, there were some difficult choices made regarding players on the roster bubble. It could be due to the fact that they played well in a crowded room or they didn’t show quite enough to be worthy of a spot.

Here’s a look at the eight toughest cuts we made in our final roster projection for the Colts:

Studs and duds from Colts’ preseason win over Bears

Here are the studs and duds from the Colts’ preseason win over the Bears.

The Indianapolis Colts grabbed their first win of the preseason Saturday night in a 24-17 victory over the Chicago Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Though the starters didn’t see the field after conducting some physical joint training camp practices at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield earlier in the week, we still got to see some football take place in the Circle City.

Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Colts’ preseason win Saturday night:

5 takeaways from Colts’ 24-17 preseason win over the Bears

Here are five takeaways from the Colts’ preseason win over the Bears.

The Indianapolis Colts won their lone home preseason game against the Chicago Bears after being down two scores in the fourth quarter.

It ended up being the battle of the backups after it came out right before kickoff that Shane Steichen elected to withhold his starters after this week’s joint practices with the Bears.

This created a great opportunity for players to make their case for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Here are five takeaways from the matchup:

6 Colts to watch vs. Bears in preseason Week 2

Here are six Colts players to watch during the preseason game Saturday night.

The Indianapolis Colts are set to host the Chicago Bears for a preseason matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night.

While it isn’t clear whether the starters will be playing, all eyes would be on rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson if he’s on the field. So there’s no need to tell readers to watch for him.

With training camp officially over, only the preseason stands between the Colts and games that actually matter.

Here’s a look at six players to watch during Saturday night’s matchup against the Bears:

4 things to know about Colts’ new DE Titus Leo

Get to know Colts’ sixth-round pick Titus Leo.

The Indianapolis Colts used their only sixth-round selection in the 2023 NFL draft to select edge rusher Titus Leo out of Wagner College.

While not much has been known about Leo during the pre-draft process, he will have a chance to compete for one of the final roles in the defensive line room throughout training camp and the preseason.

Here are four things to know about the sixth-round 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: