Colts sign Justin Shirk, waive Camaron Beard

The Indianapolis Colts have made a minor roster move today, as the team announced that they have signed undrafted free agent inside linebacker Justin Shirk and waived defensive end Camaron Beard, who was signed as an undrafted free agent earlier this offseason.

At Division II Bloomsburgh, the 6-0, 243 pound Shirk played in 45 games at inside linebacker, recording 392 tackles (45 for loss), 18 sacks, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a pick during his four years there (2011-2014).  In every one of his four seasons, he was designated with conference honors, and he was named first-team All-PSAC East in 2013 and 2014 and second-team All-PSAC East in 2011 and 2012.  He transferred to Bloomsburg from Oklahoma, where he excelled in track and field as a javelin thrower.  He participated in track and field for once season at Bloomsburgh (2012), winning the Division II national championship in the javelin throw.

Camaron Beard went undrafted out of the University of Cincinnati but earned an invitation to the Colts' rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis.  A few weeks later, Beard's impression that he left at mini-camp must have still stood in the mind of general manager Ryan Grigson, as the team signed Beard to the active roster.  He participated in the final few weeks of the offseason program, including the mandatory mini-camp from June 9-11.

This is a pretty minor roster move, as it was unlikely that Beard was going to make the roster and it's equally unlikely that Shirk will make the roster.  With that said, however, Grigson is trying to find the best players possible at this time of the year, and these moves aren't entirely uncommon.  The Colts saw what they had in Beard and decided to now give Shirk a try instead.  When training camp starts in about a month, there will be a lot of undrafted players just like Shirk trying to to make an impression and stick around despite the odds stacked against them.