Things didn't go the way the Indianapolis Colts surely envisioned. After a 7-1 start, they suffered several injuries, and what seemed like a promising campaign turned into a full collapse when they were eliminated from playoff contention when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. They were then steamrolled by the Jacksonville Jaguars one game later.
Without something meaningful to play for in the final, the Colts have turned to a former Jaguars quarterback to fill out their roster.
The Colts are signing former Jaguars QB Seth Henigan
Indianapolis signed quarterback Seth Henigan to the practice squad ahead of Week 18. This isn't particularly surprising when you take into account that they don't have many healthy quarterbacks right now aside from rookie Riley Leonard.
Sure, Indy brought Philip Rivers out of retirement once Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. However, the Colts didn't add him to the active roster to ensure that his eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame didn't reset. Instead, they signed the 44-year old quarterback to the practice squad and elevated him to the roster the past three weeks.
And precisely because Indianapolis has elevated Rivers from the practice squad as many times as it's allowed, it signed Henigan to round out its quarterback depth chart.
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Don't expect Seth Henigan to get much playing time with the Colts
Unless Riley Leonard gets hurt in the finale, it's hard to see Seth Henigan getting any meaningful playing time. In fact, the Colts will want to assess Leonard ahead of the offseason, but they still need to prepare for the worst.
An undrafted free agent, Henigan showed promise in the offseason. Although he didn't have great arm strength, the Jags liked him because of how he approached his preparation. The fact that they kept him in the practice squad over veteran John Wolford was also a sign that Jacksonville saw him as an intriguing developmental prospect.
However, the Jags saw enough of Henigan after a few weeks and released him from the practice squad to make room for former Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley. Now, he'll have another chance, this time with the Colts, to make an impression and show that he deserves to stick around in the NFL.
Given that the Colts have already been eliminated from playoff contention, don't expect the Seth Henigan signing to send shockwaves across the league. Having said that, the fact that he's getting another chance to keep his NFL caree alive shouldn't go unnoticed.