Colts Complete Trade on Cutdown Day

The Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made a trade ahead of the 53-man roster deadline.

The Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made a trade ahead of the deadline for the 53-man roster deadline.

🚨TRADE 🚨

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 30, 2022

The Colts sent Tampa a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, and in exchange they receive linebacker Grant Stuard and the Bucs' 2023 seventh-round.

Stuard was originally Tampa Bay's sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Houston.

He was a core-special teams player for the Buccaneers as a rookie, playing 311 snaps on special teams across all 17 games.

Stuard carries a base salary of $825,000 in 2022 and is under contract through 2024 on his rookie deal.

Bringing in an inside linebacker ahead of the 53-man roster deadline brings up questions about the availability of linebacker Shaquille Leonard heading into the season.

Head coach Frank Reich said on Sunday they were unlikely to place Leonard on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, because that would keep Leonard away from team activities until after Week 4.

READ MORE: Reich on Leonard's Availability Week 1 and the PUP Option

That doesn't mean Leonard will be ready for Week 1, but Stuard doesn't seem like a direct replacement for Leonard if he's not ready to start the season. Stuard played just 26 snaps on defense last year despite playing in all 17 of Tampa's regular season games. 

With roster cuts happening today by 4 p.m. EST, there will be a hoard of inside linebackers available to the Colts on the waiver wire they could claim by 10 a.m. Wednesday morning if they feel they need insurance for Leonard.

Stuard appears to be a player to bolster special teams and provide depth at linebacker.