The Indianapolis Colts have their eyes on a former first-round pick and veteran free-agent pass rusher amid a slew of injuries in their defensive trenches.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire, the Colts brought in former Buffalo Bills first-round pick Shaq Lawson on Tuesday for a roster workout alongside five other free-agent defensive linemen who could potentially help them bolster their ranks.
Lawson — the No. 19 overall pick in 2016 — never lived up to his first-round potential, but he would add quality experience to the Colts’ defensive end position, having played in 110 career games (with 38 starts) and tallied 27 sacks, 42 TFLs and 207 total tackles. He has not appeared in a regular-season game since Week 7 last year with Carolina.
The Colts also worked out defensive ends Myles Cole and Viliami Fehoko and defensive tackles Maurice Hurst, Chris Wormley and Christopher Hinton on Tuesday.
The Colts are currently hurting for depth along their defensive line. They had to place star veteran defensive tackle DeForest Buckner on injured reserve last week, sidelining him until at least Week 14. They have also not had either Samson Ebukam or Tyquan Lewis available off the edge since October 19’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Colts (8-2) are on their bye week and will not play again until they face the Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) at 1 p.m. ET on November 23 for their Week 12 road matchup.
Division-Leading Colts Need More From Pass Rushers
The Colts are more likely than not only looking at Lawson and Tuesday’s other workout players as potential stop-gap depth pieces who can help them wait out key injuries, but make no mistake about it: they need more consistency from their pass-rushing unit.
While the Colts are in a three-way tie for the fifth-most sacks (29) in the league through the first 10 weeks, they have struggled to consistently keep the pressure on opposing quarterbacks throughout their hot 8-2 start. According to ESPN Analytics, they own a 31% pass-rush win rate after 10 games, tying Chicago and Cincinnati for second-worst.
Unfortunately for the Colts, the answers will largely need to come from within now that the NFL trade deadline has passed. Laiatu Latu has done an excellent job holding down one side of the line, generating 38 pressures and earning the sixth-best overall grade (89.5) from Pro Football Focus among edge rushers, but Kwity Paye and rookie JT Tuimoloau have been hit or miss through the first 10 games in terms of pass rushing.
Perhaps one of their workout players can add something to the equation, even if it is only a fresh body to jump in for a few reps while their mainstay rushers get a breath.
Christopher Hinton is Son of Former Colts Pro Bowler
For longtime Colts fans, one of the names on their workout list — Christopher Hinton — likely stands out a little more than the rest, due to that name’s legacy with the team.
Hinton, a 2022 undrafted talent, is the son of former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Chris Hinton, who played seven seasons for the Colts from 1983 to 1989. The elder Hinton earned six Pro Bowl selections and two second-team All-Pro nods during his time with the Colts, becoming the first offensive tackle to appear in the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
While the Colts traded him to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1990 offseason in exchange for that year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, he was later inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor.
The younger Hinton has not made nearly the same impression in his first few years in the league. He has appeared in seven career games — all for the Chargers — and tallied just 13 total tackles and one quarterback hit across 147 career defensive snaps.
Even still, the legacy is intriguing, even if the Colts decide not to sign him.
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