Colts release linebacker Amarlo Herrera, waive-injured running back Abou Toure

The Indianapolis Colts have waived inside linebacker Amarlo Herrera and waived-injured running back Abou Toure.

Herrera was drafted in the sixth round of last year’s draft out of Georgia by the Colts, and he played in three games for Indianapolis last year. He was with the team in training camp a year ago but was waived following the preseason, and the Colts signed him to their practice squad soon after. He spent the rest of the season between the team’s practice squad and active roster, as he was promoted to the active roster three different times for three different games. He was the guy the Colts brought up to the 53-man roster when they needed an extra body at inside linebacker.

This year, he wasn’t factoring in to the mix at inside linebacker nearly as much, and in fact he has been very quiet in training camp. D’Qwell Jackson, Nate Irving, and Sio Moore are the top three at the position, and then this year’s fourth round draft pick Antonio Morrison was also added to the mix. On top of that, Josh McNary, Edwin Jackson, and Junior Sylvestre are also seeing reps in camp. Herrera seemed to be the odd man out all along, so it’s not a surprise that the Colts are releasing him. The surprise is the timing of it, as he’s being released before a single preseason game has been played. This move wouldn’t be surprising if it came during roster cutdowns, but the fact that it’s coming now makes the move more noteworthy.

As for Toure, he didn’t practice today, though it’s unclear what his injury is. Either way, he wasn’t expected to make the roster, as he was signed for depth purposes at running back once Tyler Varga decided to retire. If Toure clears waivers, he will revert to the team’s injured reserve list.