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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: 3 biggest surprises from Indianapolis Colts roster deadline day: Unforeseen trades, cutting recent acquisitions, and more
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