The Indianapolis Colts are at the halfway point of their preseason games. General manager Ryan Grigson has a history of being able to sign some undrafted free agents who find their way onto the roster.
That might not be the case this year. Here is Part III of the Colts' 53-man roster projection:
Quarterbacks (2): Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck (cut: Bryan Bennett)
Note: Hasselbeck's age (39 years old) is starting to show. He’s 14-of-26 for 131 yards and an interception in the preseason. More importantly, you have to wonder how he would perform if Luck were to go down with an injury.
Running backs (4): Frank Gore, Daniel "Boom" Herron, Josh Robinson, Zurlon Tipton (cut: Vick Ballard, Abou Toure, Tyler Varga)
Note: Ballard has two more games to show the Colts he’s capable of regaining his strength and burst after missing the past two seasons with knee and Achilles injuries. Do that and Ballard should make the roster over Tipton.
Tight ends (3): Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener, Jack Doyle (cut: Erik Swoope, Sean McGrath, Justin Sinz)
Note: Allen and Fleener are obviously locks, and there is a significant gap between Doyle and everybody else to be the third tight end.
Wide receiver (6): T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Duron Carter, Phillip Dorsett, Vincent Brown (cut: Quan Bray, Ryan Lankford, Ezell Ruffin, Tyler Rutenbeck, Griff Whalen)
Note: Nothing has changed from the previous projection. But everybody is still waiting for the Duron Carter of training camp at Anderson University to show up in a preseason game. Carter has only one catch for 16 yards.
Offensive linemen (10): Anthony Castonzo, Jack Mewhort, Khaled Holmes, Jonotthan Harrison, Todd Herremans, Lance Louis, Hugh Thornton, Joe Reitz, David Arkin, Denzelle Good (cut: Will Corbin, Donald Thomas, Tyler Hoover, Ulrick John, Brandon Vitabile)
Note: The clock is ticking on Thomas. He’s still on the physically unable to play list with less than two weeks until the Colts have to trim their roster to 53 players.
Defensive linemen (7): Kendall Langford, Art Jones, Josh Chapman, Montori Hughes, Zach Kerr, David Parry, Henry Anderson (cut: Earl Okine, Jeris Pendleton, Kelcy Quarles)
Note: It’s only a matter of time until Parry moves into the starting lineup ahead of Chapman. Parry just needs to get to the point where his teammates trust that he will stay within the system, because he’s making an impact. Chapman has his teammates' trust, but he’s not making an impact.
Linebackers (9): Trent Cole, Erik Walden, Robert Mathis, Bjoern Werner, Jonathan Newsome, D'Qwell Jackson, Jerrell Freeman, Nate Irving, Henoc Muamba (cut: Cam Johnson, Daniel Adongo, Amarlo Herrera, Zack Hodges, Justin Shirk, Junior Sylvestre)
Note: Sylvestre not only is tied for the team lead in tackles, he also has a team-high two sacks to stay in the mix for a roster spot.
Cornerbacks (5): Greg Toler, Vontae Davis, Darius Butler, D'Joun Smith, Jalil Brown (cut: Deveron Carr, Donald Celiscar, Sheldon Price)
Note: Brown would likely be the fourth cornerback behind Toler, Davis and Butler if the season started today.
Safeties (4): Mike Adams, Dwight Lowery, Clayton Geathers, Colt Anderson (cut: Dewey McDonald, Winston Guy)
Note: Anderson makes the roster because of his special teams skills.
Special teams (3): Adam Vinatieri, Pat McAfee, Matt Overton
Note: Nothing will change with these three.