After Making Colts, Tony Brown Released, Signed to Practice Squad

Alabama has five former players added as NFL teams sign their initial practice squads for the 2022 season.

Christopher Walsh | Sep 1, 2022

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Alabama Crimson Tide

A day after making the initial 53-man roster of the Indianapolis Colts, defensive back Tony Brown was released on Wednesday, and subsequently added to the practice squad.

The Colts used his roster spot to claim tackle Luke Tenuta off waivers from the Buffalo Bills.

Also signed to practice squads on Wednesday were:

• Panthers: Guard Deonte Brown

• Browns: Tight end Miller Forristall

• Lions: Defensive back Saivion Smith

• Patriots: Defensive end LaBryan Ray

All may be an injury away from being back with their teams, as practice-squad players are not officially considered on the roster. However, practice-squad players can be signed away by teams that put them on their 53-man roster.

Brown was listed as the backup nickel defensive back for the Colts behind Kenny Moore II. Safeties Trevor Denbow and Armani Watts are both on the injured reserve.

The former Alabama standout (6-0, 199 pounds) signed with the team as a free agent on March 8, 2022. He's played in 33 career games (four starts) in his time with the Las Vegas Raiders (2021), Cincinnati Bengals (2020-21), Green Bay Packers (2018-19) and Los Angeles Chargers (2018) and has totaled 50 tackles (39 solo), 3.0 tackles for loss, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and eight special teams stops.

The Colts don't have much experience on the offensive line behind the starting five including center Ryan Kelly. Tunuta doesn't have any either, but is huge at 6-8, 319 pound.

The six-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 209 overall), Tenuta appeared in 34 games (26 starts) in college at Virginia Tech, and started at both left tackle and right tackle. He split time at left tackle (29 snaps) and right tackle (123 snaps) for the Bills during the preseason.

Bama in the NFL Database

Published Sep 1, 2022

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.