The roller-coaster start to Tim Smith’s first NFL season has stopped – for now – with the former Alabama defensive tackle on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
A sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft on April 26, Smith survived the Colts’ cut on Tuesday that reduced Indianapolis’ preseason roster to the 53-player regular-season limit for active players.
But on Wednesday, the Colts were awarded Chad Muma as a waiver claim after the three-year linebacker had been let go by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday. To create a spot on the 53, Indianapolis waived Smith.
The Colts have re-signed Smith for their practice squad after he cleared waivers.
A teammate of Smith’s at Alabama in 2022, cornerback Eli Ricks has been released by the Philadelphia Eagles twice this week.
Ricks played in 23 games over the previous two seasons for Philadelphia after entering the league as an undrafted rookie, and he won a Super Bowl ring for the Eagles’ NFL championship last season. But Philadelphia waived Ricks in its roster cutdown on Tuesday.
When Ricks cleared waivers, the Eagles re-signed him for their practice squad. But on Friday, Philadelphia signed cornerback Ambry Thomas for its practice squad and released Ricks in a corresponding move.
A third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Thomas played in 42 regular-season and five playoff games, with 15 starts, for the San Francisco 49ers in his first three seasons. After spending the 2024 campaign on injured reserve, Thomas had been cut by the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.
Ricks is now a free agent able to sign with any team.
Each NFL team can have a practice squad of 16 players. Members of the practice squad do everything the players on the active roster do except play in games. But two practice-squad members can be elevated to active status for each game, although no player can be elevated from the practice squad more than three times in a season.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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