With star running back Jonathan Taylor (ankle) ruled out for a Thursday Night Football showdown against the Denver Broncos, the Indianapolis Colts are turning to their practice squad for backfield reinforcements.
The Colts have elevated running back Phillip Lindsay to the game-day roster for Week 5. Lindsay will now team up with Nyheim Hines in the Colts’ backfield and face his former team in a nationally-televised game.
Lindsay joined the Broncos as a college free agent out of Colorado in 2018 and he went on to rush for 2,550 yards and 17 touchdowns in three seasons (42 games), earning a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie in 2018.
When the running back’s contract was set to expire in 2021, Broncos general manager George Paton placed a low-round tender on Lindsay. The running back’s agent then asked for his client to be released and Denver granted the request and rescinded Lindsay’s tender.
“We wanted to do right by Phillip,” Paton said in 2021. “He’s been a great player here and he’s been great in the community. He’s one of the more popular players for the Broncos the last few years and we wanted to let Phillip hit the market and maximize his value, so that’s what we did. He deserves that.”
Many fans were disappointed by the team’s decision, but Lindsay said at the time that he had “nothing but respect” for Paton and the franchise.
Lindsay then went on to sign a one-year deal with the Houston Texans and he earned just over $2 million that season before being released. Lindsay then finished the 2021 season with the Miami Dolphins, playing in four games.
When he became a free agent again earlier this year, Lindsay signed a one-year deal with the Colts. He failed to make their 53-man roster in August but quickly re-signed to Inday’s practice squad a week later. Lindsay is now set to get his first regular-season opportunity to impress with the Colts, and fittingly, it will be against his former team.
Thursday’s game will begin at 6:15 p.m. MT on Prime Video.
