Game day rosters across the NFL allow for only 48 players to be active on Sundays. So, for the Colts, who did not elevate anyone from the practice squad this week, they had to make five players inactive.
QB Sam Ehlinger
OL Tanor Bortolini
OL Blake Freeland
TE Will Mallory
DE Genard Avery
Of course, of note, not listed is Laiatu Latu and Michael Pittman, both of whom were questionable on Friday.
The first four names on the list have been inactive each of the previous two games. With the emergency quarterback rule, since Ehlinger is on the 53-man roster, the Colts do not need to have him active on game-day in order to have him available.
With Freeland struggling through most of the preseason, rookie Matt Goncalves would win the swing tackle competition that took place.
With Danny Pinter on the roster, the Colts have the luxury to essentially red-shirt Bortolini this season as he makes the transition from college to the NFL at a difficult position–something offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter discussed over the summer.
Given the Colts’ struggles in the short to intermediate passing games, I do think there is value in having Mallory available to potentially provide a passing game spark at tight end. However, the Colts clearly feel differently, and will again go with a more blocking-heavy approach at the position.
Lastly, with Latu available, Avery is inactive after being signed to the 53-man roster earlier in the week. Even without Avery, the Colts still have five defensive ends available for this game–which is how many they’ve had the first two games. Without DeForest Buckner, we could see Tyquan Lewis or Dayo Odeyingbo take some snaps inside.
