Colts sign linebacker Eze Obiora to reserve/future contract

The Indianapolis Colts today signed linebacker Eze Obiora to a reserve/future contract.

Obiora has an interesting backstory, as he was a rugby player growing up in the United Kingdom and started playing football in 2008.  He worked out with the Purdue football team in the fall of 2008, and he wound up going to the College of DuPage for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.  During the 2010 season, he recorded 40 tackles, 14 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.  He then played in 2011 and 2012 at Southern Illinois, and in two years he played in 22 games.  In his senior season, he recorded eight sacks (second in the Missouri Valley Conference), 12 tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles.  Since then, Obiora has spent time playing in the Indoor Football League (where he recorded eight sacks and a forced fumble in six games played during the 2014 season), the Canadian Football League, and the Arena Football League.

He is primarily a pass rusher and therefore projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the Colts' system, and this seems like a typical Ryan Grigson offseason signing.  Obiora is a guy who is not very well-known and can be viewed as a project player, but Grigson likes to take chances on those guys with the 90-man roster to see what they can do.  That's exactly what he's doing with Eze Obiora, as the Colts signed him to a reserve/future contract.

The signing of Obiora makes seven reserve/future signings by the Colts this year, joining tackle Burton Pierce, guard Ben Heenan, linebacker Edwin Jackson, guard Kitt O'Brien, defensive back Dezmen Southward, and wide receiver Joshua Stangby.