Colts sign Stephen Morris to practice squad

The Indianapolis Colts have signed quarterback Stephen Morris to their practice squad today after he cleared waivers. In order to make room on the ten-man practice squad, the team waived safety Lee Hightower.

Morris is obviously a player that many fans are interested in, as he played very well this preseason and actually made the initial 53-man roster. The Colts kept three quarterbacks on their roster until yesterday, when they waived Morris to make room for another defensive back. It’s likely that a bit of strategy came into those decisions too, as the Colts kept Morris on their active roster while the other teams in the league signed guys and figured out their quarterback position. It’s unclear whether Morris would have been claimed had he been waived initially, but regardless, the Colts got him past waivers and onto the practice squad now.

In four preseason games, Morris completed 39 of 61 passes (63.9%) for 531 yards (8.7 yards per attempt) and four touchdowns against one interception for a passer rating of 106.7, while he also added 50 yards and a touchdown rushing while averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He led all AFC quarterbacks in passing yards and passing touchdowns this preseason, and Chuck Pagano said that the Colts “didn’t want to lose a good football player,” thus the decision to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster initially. It’s clear that the Colts like Morris, but they apparantly didn’t want to commit to him as their backup. So he’s on their practice squad for now, where the team will be able to keep working with him.