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Should the Colts Look at Ben Tate Again?

The Vikings waived running back Ben Tate today, who the Colts had put in a waiver claim for earlier in the year. Should Indy look at the back again?

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

This afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they have waived running back Ben Tate.  When he was waived by the Cleveland Browns earlier in the season, both the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts also put in a waiver claim for the back, but he was awarded to Minnesota.  With him being waived again, however, here's the question: should the Colts look at putting in a claim for Tate this time?

Tate played in just three games for the Vikings before being waived, gaining just 38 yards on 13 carries in his time there for 2.9 yards per carry.  In eight games for the Browns this year, Tate gained 333 yards and scored four touchdowns while averaging 3.1 yards per carry.  He spent the last three seasons with the Texans.

It's concerning that Tate has now been waived by a second team in a month, and it's also concerning that his on-field production has been dwindling this season.  At this time of the season, it's really hard to bring in a running back off the street and expect him to have a significant impact in the playoffs, so it's unlikely that a playoff team would come calling unless they believe he's a special back who can get acclimated quickly.  Otherwise, with just a week left in the season, a team would just be interested in him for next year - which could prompt teams to hold off on a waiver claim and just wait until the offseason.

The Colts, however, are in need of help at running back.  On Sunday they had their worst rushing performance in franchise history, gaining just one yard on ten carries - which is actually really hard to do.  Ever since Ahmad Bradshaw was injured the Colts have really lacked a threat in the run game, and while Boom Herron has been promising the Colts are one-dimensional and just becoming more so offensively.  The Colts did their homework on Tate last time and found him worth a waiver claim, but the question is whether they would put in a claim again after Tate was waived by his second team in a month.  There's no question the Colts could use help at running back.  But why was Tate released twice in such a short span?  Could he get acclimated to the offense in time to actually have an impact when it matters?  Are the Colts happy enough with Boom Herron, who was unproven when the Colts put in the waiver claim last time?  Are the Colts even interested anymore?

These are the questions that need to be asked, and we don't know the answers to them.  But what about you?  Do you think the Colts should look at Ben Tate again?