The Indianapolis Colts' initial 53-man roster is set following the cutdown deadline. But to get to that point, GM Chris Ballard had to make a number of moves, which included a few difficult decisions.
With the dust now somewhat settled on all that took place on Sunday, here are three takeaways from the Colts' roster.
3 free agent additions miss out
Not on the Colts' initial roster were three free agents who were just signed this offseason. Wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, and safety Juanyeh Thomas were all left off.
Westbrook-Ikhine was beat out by Laquon Treadwell. Nnadi struggled during the preseason, and Jerry Tillery earned the backup nose tackle role. The Colts kept only four safeties, leaving Thomas on the outside looking in, with Jonathan
Owens handling the special teams-heavy workload.
Jerry Tillery over Colby Wooden?
It certainly seemed like Wooden was destined for a roster spot and Tillery would be the one let go. Like Nnadi, he didn't exactly stand out this preseason. However, in an effort to figure out why the Colts went this direction, I think we have to look at the construction of the defensive tackle unit.
As mentioned, Tillery will be Grover Stewart's backup, while Wooden -- a 3-tech -- would have been behind DeForest Buckner and Adetomiwa Adebawore. That said, then why ask for Wooden in the Zaire Franklin trade? He has nose tackle experience, but if the plan was to move him back to the 3-tech, then from the start, that was already a crowded role.
DJ Giddens over Ulysses Bentley?
This move wasn't unexpected -- had Giddens on my final roster prediction -- but it still feels like a head-scratcher. Bentley was the better performer this summer, with Giddens missing a large portion of camp with an injury. It's also not as if Giddens was an established player on this team -- his role as a rookie was quite small. Bentley also brings an added pass-catching presence to the backfield that could add a different element to this offense.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: 3 takeaways from Colts initial 53-man roster
