Colts 2015 Player Preview: Defensive Lineman Jeris Pendleton

This point in the offseason is without a doubt the biggest dead period of the year when it comes to the NFL, and while there are a few roster moves that are made during this period, most of the time things quiet down until training camp.  For the Colts, most of their roster was with the team during offseason workouts and/or mini-camp, but they have made a few roster moves since then.  One of those was to bring back defensive lineman Jeris Pendleton.

Pendleton was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Ashland University, and he played in four games during his rookie season in Jacksonville, making one tackle.  He was released by the Jaguars in May of 2013 and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys later that summer.  He was released by the Cowboys during preseason, however.  On December 4, 2013, the Colts signed Pendleton to their practice squad, and then they signed him to their active roster in time for the regular season finale.  He played in that game and made a couple of tackles, and he also appeared in the two playoff games.  Entering 2014, Pendleton stood a decent chance at making the 53-man roster as a depth defensive lineman, but he was injured in the preseason and spent the entire year on IR.  He was a restricted free agent this offseason and the Colts did not tender him.  No team signed him until the Colts did just over a week ago, and now he is back to compete in training camp with the team.

Pendleton is obviously late in getting involved with the Colts this year after missing offseason work, but he has spent the last two years with the Colts and is obviously familiar with their system, perhaps making the adjustment easier and meaning less catchup for him.  He will be competing for a depth spot along the defensive line, and he might be a solid option there.  With that said, however, the Colts have plenty of other intriguing depth defensive linemen options, such as Montori Hughes, Zach Kerr, Kelcy Quarles, Earl Okine, and the two draft picks out of Stanford, Henry Anderson and David Parry.  That is in addition to the projected starters (Kendall Langford, Josh Chapman, and Arthur Jones).  The team's defensive line likely won't be great in 2015, but they do seem to have some solid depth.  For Pendleton to make the roster, he will have to be more impressive than some of the others who have the advantage over him (like Hughes, Kerr, Anderson, and Parry) and will have to prove that he's worth keeping around.  That will be hard for him to do coming off of a missed season a year ago due to injury and missing all of the offseason workouts, but there may be a spot for him if he produces in camp and preseason.