Colts 2015 Player Preview: Inside Linebacker Carlos Fields

When it comes to the Colts' inside linebacker position, there is a wide variety of players on the offseason roster.  There are players like D'Qwell Jackson, who is entering his tenth season in the league, as well as guys like Jerrell Freeman, who has been the team's starter for the past three seasons.  There are guys like Henoc Muamba, who was a standout in the CFL before signing with the Colts, and then players like Nate Irving who have played at the NFL level.  And then there are guys like Carlos Fields.

An undrafted rookie last year, Fields didn't play in a single game, and information is pretty hard to come by for him.  He played collegiately at Winston-Salem State, where he played in 47 games and recorded 321 tackles (34.5 for loss), eight sacks, and five picks.  In his senior season in 2013, he impressed by racking up 93 tackles (43 solo), two picks, ten passes defensed and a forced fumble.  He showed solid skills in coverage and also showed nice pass rush skills, and while he's a bit raw in some of the mechanics of the position, he produced in college and was a good player.  Despite that, however, Fields went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders.  They waived him during final roster cutdowns after preseason, but he was soon signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad.  The Bucs waived him from their practice squad after about a month, and shortly after that he was signed to the Giants' practice squad.  After less than two weeks on the Giants' practice squad, however, he was waived, and the Colts quickly signed him to their practice squad, where he remained for the rest of the 2014 season.  They then signed him to a reserve/futures contract after the season ended, and he has worked with the team in offseason workouts all year long.

Figuring out where Fields fits into the Colts' linebacker position is a hard task to undertake, as we really haven't seen him on the field much at all.  We do know that the Colts have been working with him, as he was on their practice squad for the end of last season, was signed to a reserve/futures contract, and has been working out with them all offseason.  But will that be enough to earn him a spot on the roster?  The Colts list him at inside linebacker, and at the position the Colts have two starters in Jerrell Freeman and D'Qwell Jackson and a depth player in Nate Irving.  That might leave one or two spots at the position to be won in training camp and preseason, and guys like Henoc Muamba and Amarlo Herrera, who the Colts drafted in the sixth round of the draft, will also be among those competing for those spots.  Can Fields beat them out?  Maybe - but he'll have to show the production he did in college and have improved on that, plus show the ability to contribute on special teams.  If he can do that then he'll stand a good chance, but at this point its really too early to tell when it comes to Carlos Fields.