Colts sign tight end Brandon Williams

The Indianapolis Colts this afternoon announced that they have signed tight end Brandon Williams, who was in for a visit with the team.

Williams played collegiately and went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, figuring his football career was over after being diagnosed with congenital spinal stenosis. He worked as a security guard but stayed in shape, ultimately participating in a regional combine and eventually being signed by the Carolina Panthers. He was with the Panthers from 2013 through the first part of the 2015 season before he was cut, and after that the Miami Dolphins picked him up. He spent time with the Dolphins in 2015 on their practice squad and active roster, and then he spent 2016 with the Seattle Seahawks. In his NFL career, he has appeared in 45 games and has started one of them, catching six passes for 80 yards while averaging 13.3 yards per catch. In 2016, he played in all 16 games for Seattle and started one, catching two passes for 36 yards.

This move is purely for depth and special teams purposes. The Colts have Jack Doyle as their starting tight end and Erik Swoope as a still-developing number two, but after that they didn’t have any depth whatsoever at the position. That’s why it makes sense to bring in more tight ends, and Brandon Williams has been a special teams contributor in his NFL career while providing depth at tight end. It’s a deep draft class for tight ends and we might see Chris Ballard and the Colts decide to make more moves at the position for depth and competition purposes too, but that’s what this move is all about as well.