Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Predicting 53-Man Roster and Most EXCRUCIATING Cuts

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

In the final week of Indianapolis Colts training camp, with two preseason games to go, who makes the final 53-man roster, and who loses battles and their spot on the team? Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.

As the Indianapolis Colts inch closer to the end of the preseason and towards roster cut down day, it's time for us to do our roster cut predictions. We're going to dive into who we think makes it, and do players like Jolani Woods and Isaiah Land find themselves on the outside looking in? Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts.

Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every single day. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshert, resident film nerd of horseshoe huddle.com. My partner, Jake Arthur, is typically our credential boots on the ground. He was not on site today because he gets a rare off day in terms of going to the facility. the Colts do not have practice today. So we found out today is probably the best day to do our early 53-man roster prediction.

We will do one like the day before roster cutdowns as well as new information comes out from the joint practices, from the Packers game, and from the Bengals games. But as of right now, where it stands with only one more training camp practice left, this is what we think happens with the Colts roster. We're going to go through this position by position. We're going to each list off which players we would. would keep. Some of these position groups are going to be a lot easier than others. So that's how we'll, you know, expedite this process a little bit. And then the ones that really have a debate

between me and Jake will, we'll argue it out, talk it out, and really give you guys the lowdown on that. We'll also talk about some practice squad players. So stay tuned for that as well. But at quarterback, Jake, I don't think there's anyone debating this. It's Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard will be the three guys who make the team. I don't see any avenue for that not to be the case. And then our last cut that we each have is Jason Bean missing the roster. I think the only interesting aspect to talk about this here, Jake, and I'll kick it to you in a second, is I don't think they bring Jason Bean back on the practice squad. By your reporting, I think you've mentioned, like, in developmental periods this all season, he's maybe got like

a handful of reps at best, where last year he was getting a lot more. But this year, because they have Riley Leonard and they like Riley Leonard enough, Bean is kind of been the odd man out in terms of just even getting reps this off season. So I think if they do go with a practice squad quarterback this year, I don't think it's going to be Jason Bean, and he'll be able to explore options elsewhere or maybe, you know, take that contract to the UFL and be that first overall pick that he was. Yeah, I mean, he certainly has the rights to do that if he would like to, but I think you make a good point there with, does he make the roster?

Because, again, they kind of let you know what they're thinking, what the amount of reps guys get and Bean yesterday got his first reps in what felt like at least a week or week and a half and you know ever since there was a really disastrous like developmental series they were doing life tackling and everything and he was quarterbacking in it

and it just didn't go well and he's his reps have dwindled mightily since then so I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen I will say there probably is a slight question I at least get here this occasionally is do you think

they hang on to Leonard with, you know, on the roster. And I say yes only because they like him and I think they see him as a long-term like backup option. And I don't think they want to risk him to the waiver wire. So I do think Riley, they're not going to try and get him practice squad. I think they keep three quarterbacks here. So yeah, not a lot of mystery there. I think the mystery really starts when you look at running back and it's do they keep any more than three? Do they keep for. So for us here we've got Jonathan Taylor, DJ Giddens, and Tyler Goodson, one of the summer camp sweethearts this year, which means Khalil Herbert on the outside looking in. And so for Herbert, number one, he's hurt right now, which to our credit, you and I, we kind of,

we were thinking this before he got hurt. The last we saw him was against the Ravens in the preseason game. You know Taylor's going to make it. You know Giddens is going to make it. But it's really been Goodson is the guy that is made Herbert expendable. He's a core special teamer that they hold in very high regard. And that includes being one of the two gunners. And he's also the backup kickoff returner. So the guy holds a lot of weight there on special teams, but also as a running back, he's not, he's not been looking bad. He's got just as much explosiveness as Herbert does. You know, he's been the Colts past catching back for a couple years now. And, you know, as of yesterday, I really started to take notice of his abilities

and past protection. He picked up a couple blitzes very, very well yesterday. And again, if you can set yourself apart as like the guy in past protection, then that's very valuable. And that's going to get you some reps because that's the whole reason Trey Sermon was a thing the last couple years was because he was their best option, I guess, outside of Zach Moss in past protection. So, you know, the more you can do, and Goodson is contributing in a multitude of ways, which, surprisingly enough to me, I didn't think this would happen a couple months ago, but has Herbert on the outside looking in. Yeah, I think Herbert would be one of my last few cuts I would make for this Colts team. He is a vested veteran, so you wouldn't have to pass him through waivers. So maybe you could have, you know, a handshake deal to get him on the practice squad and be like a call up for the first month of the season as well, you know, just to get him back on the roster if you like him enough and want to have that.

that depth at running back. But ultimately, it comes down to a numbers game, and it's hard to take from some of these other positions, especially when there's injuries that aren't requiring guys to go on injured reserve, so you can't just open up that spot. So if you had to make a cut down anywhere, it's going to be to a fourth running back or third running back who doesn't play any special teams and hasn't had like the greatest camp. He's been fine in camp, but hasn't been like the greatest camp ever. So, yeah, running back only three, not the four that we expected, maybe coming into camp.

But talking about expecting coming into camp, I think wide receiver has been set in stone since what early last camp, like last year's camp. The same six guys are going to be returning at wide receiver. Again, Jake and I are locket step here when it comes to receiver. Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, 80 Mitchell, Ashton Dooland, and Anthony Gould. Again, I don't think there's really any conversation to be had about any of these guys missing the team. It really comes down to which one or two guys are they going to put on the practice squad. It's been DJ Montgomery, and it's been Laquan Treadwell the last couple years. Maybe a player like Coleman Owen can get on there.

I liked what I've seen from Coleman Owen, but I think they have their six, and they technically have their eight, if you count Treadwell and Montgomery being practice squad guys, and that hasn't changed in the last two years. And, I mean, gosh, some of these guys have been around forever with this team. So wide receiver feels pretty set in stone right now. Yeah, and I'm with you on the practice squad. I think Treadwell, they really, really like him. I'm iffy on Montgomery because they do like him, but he's been banged up.

And if you're only going to pull in, you know, two or three, I think Coleman Owen is almost a lock for the practice squad. He's done a lot of really good things. He's the only other guy that's received punt return reps this summer other than Anthony Gould. He has a really good connection with Riley Leonard. Those two have helped each other look good at a lot of portions of 11 on 11s. So yeah, I think Coleman Owen gets on there. Let's not wasting more time on the shoe ends here. Let's talk about tight-in because this one,

a little, there's some discourse to be had here, maybe not between us, but I just think in general, Tyler Warren, obviously, we have Moe Alley Cox, Drew Ogletree, and Will Mallory, which leaves Jolani Woods on the outside looking in. This is not what my heart desires, but I think this is probably what winds up happening. So we've pretty much put Will Mallory and Jolani Woods battling for one spot. And both guys have made plenty of plays throughout training camp, you know, whether it's you know i i think they both had the decent things in the game if i'm if i'm not mistaken i've slept since then uh but training camp definitely they've they've both had their their high moments and the difference is though will mallory has been doing it with the first

and second team and jolani woods has been pretty steadily with the third team occasionally you know some work with the second team so again that's something that the coaches are telling you what they think there so if you got two guys jockeying for one spot and And they're kind of, let's just say they're tied. They're going to give it to the guy who's been with the more valuable players surrounding him. So I personally think Drew Ogletree and Moe-Lay Cox is too much of having the same thing. And there's room to have Mallory and Woods on there as two pass catchers probably has a little more impact on your team. But nonetheless, I think that's probably how it's going to go.

Yeah, no, I agree. This Colts team wants to be a good running team this year. and I think it's hard to keep two tight ends who aren't the best in blocking when it comes to Jelani Woods and Will Mallory. And we're already looking at tight end four, probably being a healthy scratch for a good chunk of games this year, which will be like a Mallory. If you add Jolani Woods in there with him, like if you keep five, then you're just having two guys be healthy scratches for most of the season. I just, it doesn't make sense to keep five. And I think those top three guys are pretty locked in. And it feels like Will Mallory in recent weeks has gone from roster hopeful, roster bubble,

to pretty solidified as tight end for. So Jake and I so far from quarterback to tight end are in complete agreement. But coming up in a second, guys, we are going to change a little. We are going to disagree on this show for the first time and forever, I guess, and talk about what we see happening in the trenches and in which different ways the Colts could go with these trench battles coming up. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. It is the best time of the year.

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Starting five is right there. Berenhardt, Ryman, Quentin Nelson, Tanner Bordellini, Matt Gonzalez, and Braden Smith. So we're going to discuss who we think, you know, the four or five backups are going to be. So I'm going to put both Blake Freeland and Jalen Travis in there. And then for some interior depth, Danny Pinter, and Dalton Tucker. So while I don't think Dalton Tucker's probably quite ready to be a starter like he did for a chunk last year, I think they really like the prospect of him being like their first guard in if somebody goes down. And they obviously like Pinter at center as well.

The big mystery is though, like Jalen Travis, he has shown that he's pretty nimble for his size. Like guys that size don't move that well, like the basketball background really shows. But Freeland, can he rebound from basically being down? estimated off of off of the roster last year for the most part. He went from like 700 snaps as a rookie to like 23 or something last year. It was like an enormous drop off because Matt Consolves obviously won that swing tackle job. So who is going to win the swing tackle job and does it completely like erase the other guy from getting any reps whatsoever throughout the year? Yeah.

And I think the other question too is how much do they believe in Blake Freeland? Because I think if you were to pull like Indianapolis Colts fans and I'm not trying to say, say fan opinion is the most important thing when it comes to running an organization, but I think if you were to poll a majority of people who watch this team, I think almost everybody would say Blake Freeland hasn't really earned a spot on this roster. It's just been struggle after struggle after struggle the last couple of years. And so far this preseason, it hasn't looked much better for Blake Freeland either. So if the Colts are able to find a tackle that, you know, I'm not saying there's going to be a good tackle in the market because who in their right

mine would cut a good offensive tackle at this point in the NFL, but if they find someone more intriguing to develop, we could see maybe Freeland waived with the final cutdowns and then a waiver claim for, you know, another younger guy to come in here and be that ninth offensive lineman. Yeah. But I'm with you. We had the same nine guys making it. You know, I think Josh Sills is a prime practice squad guy. They clearly like him a good bit. Vavio is a guy that you're a really big fan of at center. It can make a lot of sense as well as a practice squad guy. guys. So we're still on lockstep there, Jake, but here is where we differ. So let's get into the defensive trenches because we had some really tough cuts on the defensive line. You decided

to keep five defensive tackles while I only kept four. So we're going to go with your five defensive tackles first. We got Buckner and Grover Stewart, obviously, Neville Gallimore, Atatobore, and Tim Smith were the five that you kept. I kept the same top four, but I cut Tim Smith in mind. So we'll give your, give your reasoning first why you kept five and then I'll, you know, have my rebuttal afterwards. Yeah, so this definitely seems like prime, like a prime spot for a waiver pickup for the Colts here. I just, when I look at, when I look at the backup nose tackles, no one has really stood out to me yet. Eric Johnson was, you know, insurance in case Tim Smith didn't step up. And then Josh Tupo was like the comfort item for Louana Rumo. And so,

Tupo was probably my toughest cut because to me, if they were not blown away by any of the three, Lou may be most comfortable with Tupo, but at the same time, in my reasoning, I would just probably give it to the draft pick. I can't, we obviously can't predict waiver pickups, which is my main thing here, although I think they're very much right for that. So I just figured, you know, Tim Smith is a guy they drafted and they had high hopes for being able to develop. up and if you know if everything is a tie then why not go with the young guy who you still see upside in we know who eric johnson is by now josh tupo is kind of a fallback option and again if no one is separating which they probably i mean not probably they definitely have their own views on these guys i personally haven't seen any of the three really set themselves

apart i would give it to the rookie yeah no i completely get your reasoning and that's actually why I only kept four defensive linemen and decided not to have a backup at one tech because I'm going to do the practice squad thing with backup nose tackle because neither these three none of these three guys are separating in camp I'm going to try to get all three to the practice squad and then I'll just keep calling them up in the first couple weeks get them up there and see which guy acclimates the best before signing him to the roster I think Tim Smith is the toughest one only because he's the riskiest one to cut eric Johnson I think he's hit vested vet status as well so you can just cut him that one's a little tough i'm not too sure we'll have to look that one

after the show but i think eric johnson has hit vested vet i know josh tupo is a vested vet so you can cut him without going through waivers so tupo at the very least you can get on the practice squad eric johnson i doubt there's a big market for him at this point he's been cut by the patriots been cut by the colts the last couple years i think the colts could get him to the practice squad and then if they could also get tim smith then i think you could play that roster games with the one tech with those roster call-ups throughout the first couple weeks so trust me guys i'm the last person in the world who doesn't want to back up one tech on this team i love the big defensive linemen i would be watching the baltimore ravens and and just hoping they cut one of those

three hundred seventy pound defensive tackles that were eating the colts alive in that first preseason game just give me one of those guys that would be awesome uh but when you have a situation like this where none of these guys are really taking that backup spot i think i would like to do the practice squad roster games a little bit. And also another reason why I had to cut a defensive tackle is to make room for an extra player at defensive end. You had to do it. I had to.

I had to. So Jake at defensive end only kept five players while I kept six. So Jake's five players were the obvious. Laotu Latu, Quiti Pei, Samson, Ebukam, Taekwon Lewis, and JTu I'm a lowow. I kept the same five, but I had to keep Isaiah land. I just couldn't cut Isaiah land. And here's my reasoning for keeping. Isaiah Land and I'm sure he was the 54th guy on Jake's roster projection too so it you know it makes

sense to hate it cut them right it's awful my argument for is JT2ML is going to play a lot on the interior especially on past rushing downs which gives the need for an extra edge but also with Isaiah land he's like 235ish pounds 238 pounds this is a guy who can still like run like a linebacker so if whatever you're like lacking at linebacker for like special teams for instance Isaiah land can kind of fill the gap a little bit more so than a typical defensive end. So I even debated going smaller at linebacker because I had Isaiah Land for special teams at defensive end. Ultimately, I didn't end up going that route because there were just other things, you know,

there with the roster. But I think that could be an avenue the Colts attack is like, hey, we keep four linebackers plus six defensive ends with Isaiah Land being that six defensive end who can also play special teams. So I think there are avenues to keep Isaiah Land. and ultimately it comes down to this. This is a guy I don't want to cut. I think he gets claimed by somebody.

Somebody's going to claim Isaiah Land. I'm not saying he's a world beater because we're talking about roster bowl guys, but I really like how he's developed. I think his run defense has gotten a lot better. His pass rushing has gotten better. And look, the Colts have invested two years in this guy's development.

Let's not release him for 30-year-old edge rushers coming off Achilles injuries and 30-year-olds that haven't really progressed the last couple years. I'm not saying he's better than them. but I'd like to have the insurance of that younger pass rusher who's been improving behind them. And those were all the reasons he was arguably my toughest cut of all of these. Trust me, I also think the world of Isaiah land as a player.

I think he should have been used more last year. I don't know. I just don't think they're, I think it's just purely a numbers game. I don't think they're going to cut Tyke von Lewis. He's kind of a locker room glue guy. And I think they feel comfortable having him. I mean, the caveat with all this is that it is Lou Anorumo now, but I think Chris Ballard is going to have a lot to do with this as well. So I just don't think they're going to cut Taekwon Lewis, although, and it's not that I would want to see Taekwong Lewis go, but I do want to see a lot more of Isaiah land.

I just don't think they'll do it. So surely if they can get land on the practice squad, great. I don't think it will happen. I think he'll get sniped, just like they sniped the Cowboys. My other guy would get on the practice squad, though, is Dorel and Chami. I got a guy's been an animal all summer. He had a big play. I think it was him and Atatomiwa got the sack against the Ravens.

And Chami's had like four or five sacks that I've noticed throughout camp. And he's probably done more if that's all I've noticed. So yeah, he has been, he reminds me a little bit of Isaiah land at this stage of his career. Both guys really flashing with that second third team defense, primarily third team, did some good things. and their initial pre-seasons in the NFL. So, yeah, and Chami, I think, has got a bright future and definite, like, he is among the bottom of the roster guys, like, he's probably the first one I would get on the practice squad.

Right. No, I completely agree. And Chommy's got a long way to go with his run defense, especially with that, you know, that Ravens game was kind of rough for him in run defense. But the past rushing upside is there. If you can get him on the practice squad, I certainly would develop him, especially if you lose Isaiah Land, which I really hope they don't, but I digress. We've already talked a lot about that.

Coming up, guys, we're going to talk about the linebacker room, the corner room, and the safety room to round out this 53-man roster. Conversation, I can't even really call it predicting because we have differing ones, but conversation around the 53-man roster. August 26th market on your calendar is officially Fandwell Futures Day, a brand-new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and pre-season hunches. For just 24 hours, Fandul is giving you deals on NFL. season predictions. So whether you're calling your MVP eyeing a long shot division

winner or ready to crown your Super Bowl chant before a week one even kicks off, this is your moment. So take that flyer on the MVP race. Is Patrick Mahomes about to get back to his gaudy statistics and get back in that MVP conversation? Ground your champion in August. Maybe the Bills or Ravens can finally get over the hump this year or, you know, parlay your division winner dark horses right now. Just visit Fandall, the Fandle app today. and start planning your future bets now because futures day is one day and one day only band will play your game all right let's round this thing out with the back seven zach although we could

just spend the rest of our time talking about special teams if you would prefer yes the one the one cut they have to make in special teams literally yeah and they have almost publicly made it but yeah let's talk linebacker real quick this one is tricky because A million different guys have had to get serious reps because of Zyre Franklin being out of the lineup. Jailen Carly's being out of the lineup. And this goes back to the spring, which, you know, outside of Zaire Franklin, obviously making it, I feel very comfortable in saying that Joe Batchie will be on the team, Cam McGrone will be on the team. I've also got Jalen Carlis, obviously, and then I still have Shagu Ali on here, which means that unfortunately you have to depart with.

Solomon DeShields, but that's kind of obvious, but that's a guy I would definitely get on the practice squad. He's been flashing a lot lately. I've seen him come up with a couple run stuff. He's been able to sniff out some screen passes recently. So I really like what I've seen from DeShields. I think it looks like the game is slowing down for him a little bit more and he's able to kind of click and close and process things a little better. I've seen a lot of growth from him from the start of camp to now. Yeah, no, I think linebacker is really interesting because I could see them keeping anywhere between four and six. You can make the argument for four because Lou Anurumo at most, I mean,

he won't really play three linebackers at the same time on the field. It'll be mostly two, sometimes one, sometimes zero will be on the field at one time. So there may not be as big a need to keep five or six linebackers, but on the other hand, you want to have more linebackers for special teams. And depending on what they do at other positions, you might want to go heavy at linebackers. So I really went back and forth between four and five linebackers, but ultimately I kept the same five that you did by keeping Shagoo Alubi. But I will say Alubi was probably my last guy on the roster to make the team,

like the very final guy, because he has fallen out of favor. And I think Brian Mason will go to war for him. And I think that'll be the one saving grace. Yeah, that was, for me, he was someone I was willing to cut, but at the same time being like one of the core special teamers, I was like, that's probably going to keep him around. He's been with the squad a couple years now. Like, he's pretty entrenched in that role.

So I just, I don't think they're going to cut him. Yeah, no, I agree. And then one more player I wanted to mention with linebackers, Austin Ajake. He was a guy that I debated for that final spot because he had been getting more defensive reps over Shagu, Alubi. And I even think Luana Rumo would go to bat more for Ajake than he would for Alubi. But I think ultimately it's going to come down more to Brian Mason on that final spot. And that's why I went with Shagyu-A-Lubi as well.

Our last group that we actually differ on, Jake, here, is the cornerback room. So only three groups in total we actually differed on in our 53-man roster projection. But at Corner, you have Tervarius Ward, Jalen Jones, Kenny Moore II, Juj-Brand, Sam Womack, and you kept Chris Lamontz as your final corner. I kept Alex Johnson. I think it's anyone's guess what happens at Corner because this might be the position where they cut Shea Guilubi to make room for more corners because we'd be looking at two of these guys

not being ready for week one and we don't even know if they're going to be IR candidates because of how long they could be out. We just don't have that information right now. So with how it stands on our roster predictions, the Colts would have four healthy corners on the roster. Actually, only three if you count the Kenny Moore injury, and he's still out of practice right now.

So it's kind of difficult. Like I debated going up to seven or maybe eight corners on the roster, but it's just really difficult numbers game to do that. So as of right now, that's who you have, and then you went with Lamonts at the bottom of the roster. What led to you keeping Lamonts over, you know, Jonathan Edwards, Alex Johnson, or even Duke Shelley for that final spot?

Yeah, so Corner easily has my fewest confidence points, and that's because of the injuries. I just felt like I had to pick a lineup here because I do think there's going to be some sort of movement at the beginning of the year. There almost has to be. but this group is just the one I'm most confident in number one Lamonts has come in the last two days of practice

and bitten that nickel with Kenny out. So they immediately inserted him back in. They know him. He was a core special teamer for the team for the past couple years. He played, I think, a lot of defensive snaps for them, especially last year, if I remember correctly. So that's a guy that maybe Lou's not familiar with, but just within the organization, they know what to expect

for him. People can vouch for him. Again, he's already inserted himself into a decent role as as long as Kenny Moore is out. At the same time, though, I'm pretty bullish on both Alex Johnson and Jonathan Edwards. I would be totally fine with either of them making it. It's not lost on me that both of them have seen serious reps on the outside since name your player has been injured, essentially um lu doesn't seem to be willing to like gush about either of them individually very much even when asked specifically about them uh but that doesn't necessarily mean anything like he could just be heartbroken about justin wally which we all are but that's another part of it wally being out kind of muddies these waters as well so what there's nothing they could do

at the cornerback room that will surprise me at this point i'll just put it that way because the injuries dictate everything yeah no i completely agree this could be a position group again they keep up to seven or eight on the initial cut downs and then they do a lot of the roster games immediately afterwards because of those injuries to juju brands jalen jones and and heck even kenny more might be out a lot longer than we expect like we have no clue at this point with any of those injuries uh the only reason i didn't keep lemons as my final corner was because again vested vet that you can play the roster games with a little bit like you don't have to

keep him initially he could actually be a guy that you initially cut and then when you put a Jalen Jones on injured reserve, then you could just, you know, it could be one of those like take a hat off, walk out the door and then come back in kind of thing. Like, you know, he's, he's not really going to go anywhere. That's your Isaiah McKinsey this year. Right, right. I think that's the exact player that you want to play those games with. You didn't sign him until last week. Nobody else really wants him, but he clearly has value in your room. He's never leaving the city of Indianapolis. So like, you can just have him come right back in. So I think he's the perfect player to play those roster games with. One more position of note to talk about here because special teams are

notable, but there's only one cut to be made there. It's special teams, so we'll get to that the very end. But at safety, we both have Cameron Bynum, Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas the second, and Hunter Woller, and a guy that we kind of both trumpeted as a potential roster lock earlier in the offseason did fail to make our 53 men roster, and that is Daniel Scott. I think the big reason, at least for me, and you can say your reason too, Jake, I I saw a lot of Rodney Thomas of that personal protector role when I was at the Baltimore Ravens training camp. I think he's kind of emerged as that guy. I mean, you've even mentioned Hunter Woller in that spot recently as well.

So I think it kind of made Daniel Scott a little bit more expendable. I still think they like Daniel Scott. I think they won him on the practice squad. But I think he slowly got pushed off the roster with Rodney Thomas taking more of that personal protector role recently. Yes, that's kind of my thing is as much attention as he's got on special teams. I haven't really noticed much defensively. Now, I did note that he made a nice play with a past breakup yesterday, but at the same time, like, it's hard for us to tell how big of an impact

a special teamer is making. And again, Hunter Wooller, he's not going to be a starter. So it's like if you're trying to find ways to keep him involved, and certainly special teams and that personal protector specifically would be a good way. You know, if you just plop him and Rodney Thomas in that back. field on the punt team. I think they'd be super comfortable with that. And then the other thing is I just think they'll be able to get Daniel Scott onto the practice squad. I don't think it's the end of the line with him and the Colts. I could easily see him activated at some point. I just haven't seen

enough defensively as I kind of expected we would at some point. My confidence in him hasn't necessarily waned and jerk like i i know i initially said probably just a couple weeks ago like i was pretty comfortable saying he was going to be on the roster but other guys have just kind of come in and eaten into the things he was doing and we haven't seen a lot of plays made defensively yet that i expected he might make so i do think he makes the practice squad because again they they love him they've been patient with him for two years it seems dumb to just totally cut bait at this point after you've been so patient. But yeah, I think he's probably a guy that'll be on the practice squad and probably find

his way onto the roster at some point this year. Yeah, no, I completely agree. I think they still like Daniel Scott, but certainly not a roster lock at this point. And because we're about to talk about special teams real quick before we get out of here, we did have a couple questions in our comment section about the personal protector role. This is the podcast for you, my friends, because we are the personal protector podcast. the personal protector is on the punting team so when your team is hunting he's the player that is the furthest most back compared to the punter so he's behind the rest of

the blockers and he's also the one who does the cadence who calls out the protections on that it's called the personal protector from everything I've heard some other teams might have different terms for it but that's what Brian Mason has called it the last couple years so I think what was it it was Trevor Denbo for a couple years and it was also Kyle and Branson did it a couple times. Yep, yep.

So it's an important role. It's really like Dembo kept making rosters because of his special teams coverage and because of the personal protector. So that's why we put such an emphasis on it when we talk about the offseason a lot. So great question by DG2. We do need to clarify that every now and then

because I know it's not a typical term that people know. But just rounded out here with special teams, Spencer Schrader, a kicker, Rigaborto Sanchez, Hunter and Luke Rhodes at Long Snapper. I mean, I feel great about those three positions when it comes to this. That's where I feel great about.

Do you have anything to say about those cuts there, Jake? No, I mean, if I remember correctly, like, I don't play Madden anymore, but wasn't Luke like the second rated long snapper in Madden this year or something? Oh, probably, but that means he's like a 40 overall. Yeah, I was the same. For whatever that means to you guys, like, I don't know how long snappers and such, like make the Pro Bowl and all that, but I think Luke has. and all pro and a pro will do his name throughout his long career if I'm not mistaken so there we go yeah I mean the kicking game never really like we've heard special teams coaches talk about what's wrong with the kicking game when it's going through slumps and it's usually not the operation of snapper to hold her to kicker it's usually with the kicker so and not to mention Sanchez has been here since 2017 and road since 2016 I think so that's two of your longest 10 years

players on the entire roster if they weren't good they wouldn't still be here so i mean they didn't bring in competition for those guys so they were certainly going to be here yeah and then obviously spencer schrader over over maddox trejo there's a difference of like 10 or 11 percent in how they've kicked this summer so yeah shrader clearly won the job to me yep absolutely so that is our 53 man roster prediction as of right now again we'll do a more fancy one the day before cut downs and and maybe even make graphics with that. We'll play around with Canva a little bit to really do what we can. But we'll bring, again, more of an official one the day before.

But as of right now, this is what's looking like. I don't really see too much wiggle room, but there are a couple spots at the bottom of the roster, like those last four or five positions that could change. We want to thank you guys, though, for making Locked On Culture first listen today and every day. For your second listen, check out Locked On Betts. Betting experts, Lee Sterling, and Kevin Rogers have daily MLB locks

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