Colts waive-injured Boom Herron, waive Amarlo Herrera

The Indianapolis Colts today claimed two players off of waivers, moves that have since been confirmed by the team.  They claimed defensive tackle T.Y. McGill off waivers from the Seahawks and guard Robert Myers off waivers from the Ravens.  The biggest news, however, are the moves the Colts made to make room for those two: the team waived rookie linebacker Amarlo Herrera and waived-injured running back Boom Herron.  If he clears waivers, he will revert to the team's injured reserve.

Obviously, this is a significant loss for the Colts, as Herron was their number two running back behind Frank Gore and was likely going to serve as the change of pace back.  He was injured in the fourth preseason game returning a kickoff, but despite the fact that he injured his shoulder, head coach Chuck Pagano still defended the rationale behind having Boom in there.  Whether right or wrong (and I don't think it was that bad of a decision), the reality now is that the Colts will be without Herron for the entire 2015 season.  He really stepped up late in the season and in the playoffs last year, and he did some really good things.  As a depth guy behind Gore, he was likely to have a big role.

Though the Colts keeping five running backs after the initial roster cutdown was confusing at first, it now makes complete sense.  Gore is absolutely the tram's starter, but now they will have a different number two back than expected.  As long as Josh Robinson clears the concussion protocol in time (and he is expected to), the rookie will almost certainly be the team's number two back both in week one and also moving forward.  Behind them, the Colts also have Vick Ballard and undrafted rookie Tyler Varga.

The other move the Colts made to free up room for the two waiver claims was to waive inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera.  He was drafted by the Colts in this year's draft and impressed the team quite a bit in preseason, but his spot became much less uncertain when the Colts traded for Sio Moore from the Raiders.  Herrera will need to clear waivers, but if he does then he seems like a perfect practice squad candidate.