The Colts have signed offensive tackle Luke Tenuta to the team’s 53-man roster from the practice squad, the team announced Tuesday, giving Indianapolis the true backup offensive tackle its roster lacked in the wake of roster cuts last week. Former starting cornerback Jaylon Jones was waived to clear the necessary roster spot.
Tenuta initially made the team’s 53-man roster at the deadline nine days ago, but the 27-year-old was then released to make room for Indianapolis’ waiver claim on cornerbck Kapena Gushiken. The Colts immediately signed the 2022 sixth-round pick back to its practice squad and general manager Chris Ballard pledged that the team’s offensive line room was not yet set ahead of Sunday’s season-opener at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Ravens.
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The Colts will start Tanor Bortolini at center, Quenton Nelson and Matt Goncalves at guard, and Jalen Travis and Bernhard Raimann at tackle — all spots that were sealed before the start of training camp. Rookie guard Jalen Farmer would appear to be the Colts’ first offensive lineman off the bench, barring an injury to Bortolini, which would tap in new backup Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, who the team acquired from the Bills via trade Aug. 30. And with an injury to Travis at tackle, Goncalves would likely swing over to that spot, with Farmer stepping in at guard.
Guard Dalton Tucker was the Colts’ last backup until the elevation of Tenuta, who gives Indianapolis needed depth at tackle in case Goncalves were to be injured in-game. Tenuta was on the Colts’ roster for all of last season but was inactive for the team’s first 13 games. With Travis elevated to the starting lineup to fill-in for an injured Braden Smith after the team’s loss in Jacksonville in Week 14, Tenuta was active for the following week’s game in Seattle and saw 26 offensive snaps at the end the game for an injured Raimann, but he’d play just two snaps the next week against the 49ers and none in the final two games, despite an injury-battered Indianapolis offensive line.
Jones had long been expected to be on the roster bubble coming out of an injury-plagued 2025 campaign that coincided with the adaptation of a new defensive gameplan from defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in which Jones struggled to find a foothold. Jones appeared in 10 games last fall, logging two starts after appearing in the first 34 games of his career in 2023 and 2024 with 27 starts — including all of the 2024 campaign.
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Parting ways with Jones leaves the Cotls with just five cornerbacks on the 53-man roster heading into Week 1: starters Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward and Justin Walley, and backups Gushiken and Johnathan Edwards, while veteran Cam Taylor-Britt is sidelined for one week due to a suspension by the league. Young corners Rob Carter Jr. and Kenneth Harris remain on the team’s practice squad as potential elevation candidates if necessary later this week.
In place of Tenuta on the practice squad, the Colts signed tight end Kenny Fletcher Jr.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts add much-needed offensive line depth, waive former starting cornerback
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