Colts Sign DL Kelcy Quarles, Waive RB Dion Lewis

Yesterday, the Colts made a couple of minor roster moves that are at least worth noting.  The team signed defensive lineman Kelcy Quarles to the active roster off of the New England Patriots' practice squad, and to make room for Quarles the Colts waived running back Dion Lewis.  The Colts also signed guard David Arkin to the practice squad and to make room for him waived guard Josh Walker from the practice squad.

Here's the Colts press release on Quarles:

Quarles, 6-4, 294 pounds, was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2014. He was then waived and acquired from waivers by the Patriots on August 31. Quarles played in 35 games (28 starts) in three seasons at South Carolina and posted career totals of 105 tackles (66 solo), 13.0 sacks, 23.5 stops for losses and eight quarterback pressures. In 2013, he was named a unanimous First Team All-Southeastern Conference choice after leading the Gamecocks with 9.5 sacks to go along with 39 tackles (27 solo). In 2012, Quarles started all 11 games in which he played and had 38 tackles (27 solo) and 3.5 sacks.

Lewis was signed by the Colts last week but then waived this week.  He was inactive for the game Monday, and the Colts ran very well anyway.  They have three running backs on the roster (Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Dan Herron), and I think it'll probably stay that way for the time being.

Here's the press release on Arkin:

Arkin, 6-5, 307 pounds, has played in one career game with the Miami Dolphins in 2013. He was originally selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (110^th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Missouri State. He spent his first three seasons (2011-13) with the Cowboys before joining the Dolphins in 2013 and most recently, the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. Arkin was a four-year starter at Missouri State and became only the third player in school history to earn All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors every year.

Ultimately, the signing of Quarles provides depth along the defensive line, something that is needed now with Arthur Jones' injury.  Chuck Pagano confirmed that Jones suffered a high ankle sprain and said that his status is week-by-week.  Those injuries typically take 4-6 weeks to recover from, so the Colts do need some added depth along the defensive line.  Ricky Jean Francois will likely step in and start alongside Cory Redding and Josh Chapman on the defensive line, and then Montori Hughes and Zach Kerr have been seeing good reps and will stay even more in the mix now.  Quarles now joins the depth and, while he likely won't see a ton of playing time, he's not a bad player to have as a backup like that.