With Andrew Luck's status in question, Colts sign quarterback Josh Johnson

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been limited in practice all week with a shoulder injury, and his status for this Sunday's game against the Jaguars is very much in question.  So much so that the Colts today added another quarterback to the active roster, signing Josh Johnson and waiving cornerback Shaun Prater.

We'll hopefully have more details later today, but the fact that the Colts have added a third quarterback to the roster is not a good sign whatsoever for Luck's status.  Last night, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Luck is "legitimately questionable" for Sunday's game, with the fact that the Colts play twice in five days (this Sunday against the Jaguars and then on Thursday night on the road against the Texans) being a real factor in the decision.  If Luck can't go, the Colts would start Matt Hasselbeck on Sunday, who would be making his first start since 2012.

Johnson was drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of San Diego, and Johnson spent the next four seasons with the Bucs, playing in 26 games and starting five.  Since then, he has been with the Browns (2012), the Bengals (2013), and the 49ers (2014), along with stints with the Bengals and Jets at points this offseason, training camp, and preseason.  He has played in 29 career games (five starts) and has completed 96 of 177 passes (54.2%) for 1,042 yards (5.9 yards per attempt), five touchdowns, and ten interceptions while also rushing for 274 yards on 44 carries (6.2 yards per attempt).

The Colts have been working all week with Matt Hasselbeck taking the first team reps and practice squad quarterback Alex Tanney also getting some work, and now they've added another name to the mix at the position.  This gives the team three quarterbacks on the active roster, and it gives them insurance in case Luck can't play, as they now would have a backup to Matt Hasselbeck.  The Colts haven't kept three quarterbacks on the active roster since game five of Andrew Luck's rookie season in 2012.  Drew Stanton was his backup and Chandler Harnish was the third string, but he was then waived and signed to the practice squad.  Clearly, keeping three quarterbacks is not a normal occurrence for the Colts with the durable Luck as the starter.

As for Shaun Prater, he was signed earlier this week and now waived just a few days later.  That leaves the Colts with only five cornerbacks on the roster, but two of them are Greg Toler and Darius Butler, who haven't played in a few weeks.  That would leave the Colts with only three healthy players, but Toler and Butler have both been practicing this week in a limited role.  It might still be a stretch to think that Toler returns this week, but it's entirely possible that Butler might return, and that could help explain the decision to waive Prater today.  Hopefully, the Colts could at least get Butler back this week.