The Indianapolis Colts defense may look very different than previous seasons.
After parting ways with former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, the Colts brought in Lou Anarumo to run that side of the ball under head coach Shane Steichen.
Anarumo’s defensive philosophy differs greatly from that of Bradley’s, which means some personnel may find it difficult to see the same role they previously held.
One of those players is edge rusher Samson Ebukam, who is coming off a torn Achilles he suffered during training camp last preseason.
In fact, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report believes Ebukam could be on the chopping block as he enters the final year of his three-year, $24 million deal with Indy.
“The Indianapolis Colts signed defensive end Samson Ebukam as a free agent in 2023, and the 30-year-old is entering the final year of that deal. Though Ebukam had 9.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 2023, he missed all of last season with a torn Achilles. Ebukam is eyeing a 2025 return,” Knox wrote. “However, Indy used a 2024 first-round pick on Laiatu Latu and a 2025 second-round pick on JT Tuimoloau. It could also save $7.5 million in 2025 cap space by releasing Ebukam.”
The Colts have roughly $20 million in salary-cap space to work with so parting ways with Ebukam wouldn’t solely have to do with financials.
The biggest issue with Ebukam is that he’s coming off a torn Achilles going into his age-30 season. Not only is it a difficult injury to fully come back from, but his game is predicated on being an explosive pass-rusher off the snap.
Players, especially older ones, can have difficulty reaching prior performance levels when coming off that type of devastating injury.
It seems likely the Colts will want Latu to get as many reps as possible as the weakside edge rusher so Ebukam’s role is certainly something to watch as OTAs ramp up next week.