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New Colts linebacker Buddy Johnson.
The Indianapolis Colts have swiped some reinforcements at linebacker from the Dallas Cowboys after suffering their first loss of the 2025 season on Sunday.
According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Colts will sign linebacker Buddy Johnson from the Cowboys‘ practice squad to their 53-man roster, taking advantage of rules that allow them to poach other teams’ practice-squad players for active-roster roles.
Johnson — a 2021 fourth-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers — had appeared in one game for the Cowboys this season as a practice-squad elevation, but he played just 18 special-teams snaps in the season-opening loss, recording no statistics. He has also not played a regular-season defensive snap since last October’s blowout loss to Detroit.
The Colts have not yet announced Johnson’s signing to the 53-man roster, but they will need to make a corresponding roster move to clear space for him, which could involve them cutting a player from their roster or placing an injured player on injured reserve.
The Colts (3-1) will look to bounce back against the Las Vegas Raiders (1-3) in Week 5 when they host them at Lucas Oil Stadium for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday.
Could LB Jaylon Carlies Need More Time to Return?
With injuries at other positions, the Colts‘ decision to sign a linebacker from another team’s practice squad is a bit puzzling, especially as he does not play much on defense.
Could Johnson’s signing indicate that linebacker Jaylon Carlies needs more time?
The Colts placed Carlies — a 2024 fifth-round pick — on injured reserve with a return designation during the roster cutdown in August, but he is eligible to start practicing this week after sitting out the minimum four games. The question is: Has Carlies made enough progress with the ankle injury he sustained two months ago to come back?
“I’m not sure on that one,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said this week, via Colts Roundtable Live. “We’ll see how the week goes.”
Mistake-Filled Game Led to Colts’ First Loss of 2025
Johnson’s signing might not exactly move the needle for the Colts — except, maybe, if he claims a special teams role — but they will need to play a cleaner game all around in Week 5 to get back on track after a mistake-filled loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
After a roaring start to the season, Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones came back down to earth somewhat in the 27-20 loss to the Rams, throwing his first two picks of the season and finishing with the lowest passer rating (80.6) of his first four starts. He also fumbled, though the Colts managed to keep it from falling into the Rams‘ hands.
Adonai Mitchell‘s fumble was another story, though.
The Colts‘ second-year wide receiver made one of the biggest errors of the week when he caught a deep ball from Jones and took it 75 yards to the end zone, only to release the ball just before crossing the goal line. The ball fumbled out of bounds, resulting in a touchback that nixed a go-ahead Colts touchdown and gave the Rams possession.
Defensively, the Colts also had a lapse in the closing minutes of the game when they allowed Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to complete an 88-yard touchdown pass to Tutu Atwell with 1:33 left to play, rallying to hand the Colts their first loss.
“Obviously, we hurt ourselves in a lot of situations with penalties,” Steichen said in Sunday’s postgame. “We’ve got to take care of the football, and that starts with me.”
Jordan J. Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports — high school, college and pro — for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson
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