Colts waive outside linebacker Eze Obiora

The Indianapolis Colts today waived outside linebacker Eze Obiora.

The move comes one day after the Colts parted ways with four other players as they attempted to get their roster cutdown to be able to sign undrafted free agents, which they announced yesterday.  The Colts signed 21 undrafted players, which when added to the unsigned draft picks and those players already on the roster (minus the four cut yesterday), left the 90-man offseason roster at 91 players.  Obviously, one more cut still needed to happen, and so Obiora is the odd man out as he was cut today.

Obiora was signed earlier this offseason as a free agent out of the Indoor Football League, where he played the past two seasons with the Sioux Falls Storms.  Appearing in 19 games, he recorded 89 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks in the IFL.  The Colts signed him on January 13, but his time on the roster lasted just a few weeks into the offseason workouts.

The Colts remain very thin at outside linebacker, which didn't change with the signing or release of Obiora.  Robert Mathis, Trent Cole, and Erik Walden are the only guys at the position who have appeared in an NFL game, and they all are at least 30 years old and entering the final year of their contract.  Seventh round pick Trevor Bates is also at the position, and some of the undrafted free agents could play at outside linebacker too.  Even Earl Okine, a defensive lineman, is in the mix at outside linebacker and will receive consideration.  In summary, the waiving of Eze Obiora doesn't really impact the position much, but the Colts do need some younger guys to compete and add depth.  It sounds like that won't be Obiora, but they really do need some of the others to step up.