Roster cutdowns have started for the Indianapolis Colts and of note, they’ve released veteran safety Ronnie Harrison, the team announced.
After making the transition to linebacker last season, Harrison would spend this training camp back at safety, where he spent his career playing up until 2023.
In an effort to create competition at the position, the Colts even had Harrison playing some free safety early on in training camp, despite Harrison primarily playing strong safety in his career.
By the end of camp, Harrison was spending his time at strong safety behind Julian Blackmon—although he still may have been the third option on the depth chart with Nick Cross rotating in at strong safety with Blackmon then moving to free safety.
As a veteran, Harrison will not go on waivers. Instead, he will have the opportunity to join another team but can return to the Colts’ practice squad.
This is an instance where the Colts are likely prioritizing another position on the roster where they are going to go heavy from a roster numbers perspective, requiring them to then go light elsewhere for the roster math to workout.
When it comes to these back end of the roster roles, teams will often prioritize younger players with higher upside and potential over a veteran presence.
Also, Harrison’s role on special teams, since that’s where the majority of his snaps may have been coming from, could have been another factor in this decision.
Colts announce their first 9 roster cuts ahead of Tuesday’s deadline https://t.co/dZKmIAXYSb pic.twitter.com/xPVEDdf89r
— TheColtsWire (@TheColtsWire) August 25, 2024
