This part of the business is the part that leaves a bad taste. In today's Indy Star, Phil Richards penned a nice piece on linebacker Jordan Senn, who has been one of the primary nickel linebackers the Colts have used in recent weeks. He was also one of the better players on special teams. Senn was cut in early September when the Colts had to trim down to 53, but was re-signed prior to the Arizona Cardinals game, and played 40 snaps in that game.
Today, despite the nice publicity in the morning paper, Senn was waived once again, according to Aaron Wilson of NFP. Taking his place on the roster, the Colts re-signed Chad Simpson.
Yes, THAT Chad Simpson.
The same Chad Simpson who has been awful as a kick returner and provides little, if any, upside at running back over Mike Hart (who was promoted from the practice squad this past week prompting Simpson's release prior to the Seahawks game). Also, Indy re-signing Simpson appears odd given that, just yesterday, Bill Polian seemed to suggest that Simpson kind of, well, sucked as a kick returner:
Our special teams have improved greatly this year. We've only had problems (previously) with kickoff coverage. (The) return game is a function largely of the returner. If you have a dynamic returner, you're going to have good returns as you saw with T.J. (Rushing Sunday) on the punt return.
Notice how Chad Simpson, who had been the primary kick returner since Week One, was not included in the "dynamic returner" discussion. I wrote about this just a few hours ago, and now Simpson is back in the fold?
Maybe I'm reaching or misreading Polian's quote a bit, but, regardless, I'm still scratching my head at this roster move.
Clearly, the move suggests that Gary Brackett is healthy enough to return this week, but even with Gary back playing nickel linebacker, Senn is still a better option to have on the team than Simpson, especially on special teams. I mean, Senn was playing more than Philip Wheeler was.
Just doesn't make sense.