Indianapolis – The Indianapolis Colts today signed defensive tackle Pheldarius Payne to the practice squad and placed defensive tackle Trysten Hill on the Practice Squad Injured list.
Payne, 6-3, 275 pounds, participated in the Houston Texans' 2024 offseason program and training camp. He was originally signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2024. Collegiately, Payne spent two seasons (2022-23) at Virginia Tech. In 2023, he saw action in all 13 games (two starts) and compiled 31 tackles (21 solo), 10.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. Payne missed the entire 2022 season due to injury. Prior to Virginia Tech, he played in 18 games over two seasons (2020-21) at Nebraska and totaled 34 tackles (12 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and two passes defensed. Payne began his collegiate career at Lackawanna (Pa.) College, where he registered 53 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery over two seasons (2018-19).
Hill, 6-3, 310 pounds, was signed to the team's practice squad on November 18, 2024. He has played in 34 career games (five starts) in his time with the Colts (2024), New England Patriots (2023-24), Cleveland Browns (2023), Arizona Cardinals (2022) and Dallas Cowboys (2019-22). Hill has compiled 39 tackles (27 solo), 7.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He has also appeared in one postseason contest and registered two tackles. Hill was originally selected by the Cowboys in the second round (58th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of UCF.