3 biggest surprises from Indianapolis Colts roster deadline day: Unforeseen trades, cutting recent acquisitions, and more
The roster deadline day has come and gone, and the Indianapolis Colts had some surprising moves and a lack of moves when the clock hit 6 pm EST on Sunday. Let’s look at the three biggest moves from the weekend.
While we await to see what the waiver wire brings for the Indianapolis Colts, the initial 53-man roster is set in Indy, and the weekend didn’t come without some surprises. There were some known things, like keeping Anthony Richardson on the roster, and good news on the injury front, but one question lingers about a recent acquisition. Let’s dive in.
Waiving DT Colby Wooden
Wooden was the player Indianapolis received in March when it traded Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin to Green Bay. He started 16 games for the Packers in 2025 as a run-stuffing interior lineman, and Colts coaches praised him early in camp as a versatile, high-motor addition who fit their plan to get younger up front. He still flashed in practice against the Colts’ strong interior offensive line. Cutting him after only five months—and after a modest preseason (six tackles in significantsnaps)—turned the Franklin deal into little more than a cap-saving move. The Colts instead kept veterans Jerry Tillery and Adetomiwa Adebawore plus second-year DT Tim Smith, signaling confidence that DeForest Buckner is healthy after neck surgery. Multiple outlets called it the biggest surprise of Indy’s cut day.
Trading a 2027 sixth-round pick to Buffalo for C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (plus a seventh-rounder back)
Backup snapping was a disaster all preseason. The Colts had multiple errant snaps in the finale against Detroit, including several that disrupted Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard. Rather than trust the internal candidates, they spent a mid-round pick on deadline day to add Van Pran-Granger as insurance behind starter Tanor Bortolini. It was a low-profile trade nationally, but it directly fixed the most obvious hole on the roster hours before the 6 p.m. ET deadline.
Keeping WR Keenan Allen after his early-Sunday OWI arrest
Allen signed a one-year deal in mid-August, played in Saturday’s preseason finale (one catch, 24 yards), then was arrested around 1 a.m. Sunday and charged with two misdemeanors (OWI and OWI endangering a person). He was released from jail that afternoon. Despite the timing—right on roster-cut deadline day—the Colts still kept the six-time Pro Bowler on the 53-man roster. They valued his production and experience in a receiver room that already lost Michael Pittman Jr. and needed a proven veteran opposite Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. The legal situation will play out later (court date Sept. 16), but the team did not use the arrest as a reason to cut him.
Honorable mention
Spencer Shrader beating out Blake Grupe for the kicking job. Grupe had been more accurate in camp; Shrader went 5-for-5 in the preseason, including two 60-yard-plus makes.
