INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have signed four of the 29 undrafted players who tried out at the team’s rookie minicamp.
And at least one is a player with local ties.
Indianapolis has signed Butler wide receiver Tyler Adams, Illinois wide receiver Kody Case, Northern Iowa offensive lineman Matthew Vanderslice and Illinois defensive tackle Jamal Woods. The Colts released Carson-Newman wide receiver Braxton Westfield, Wyoming running back Titus Swen, Sam Houston State wide receiver Cody Chrest and Tiffin cornerback Tyler Richardson to make room.
Both Westfield ($7,500) and Swen ($3,000) had been given modest signing bonuses to join Indianapolis.
But there is always the possibility of a few standouts emerging in the crowded group of tryouts at a rookie minicamp.
Adams, who transferred to Butler last offseason after five years at Harvard, caught 39 passes for 689 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs in 2022, and his performance at Harvard’s pro day likely opened the eyes of NFL scouts.
The wide receiver, who measured in at 5-11, 195 pounds at the pro day, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.53 seconds and the 3-cone drill in 7.23 seconds, catching the eye of the NFL. Adams was invited to the Colts’ local pro day on April 10, earned himself a shot at the team’s rookie minicamp and apparently made the most of it last weekend.
Adams, who is originally from Louisville, Ohio, caught 18 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed six times for 131 yards and a score during his second season at Harvard in 2018, but an injury kept him from producing at that level again. in a Crimson uniform.
Case, a 5-10, 182-pound receiver, had one of the rookie minicamp’s best highlights, snagging a deep ball from the team’s top draft pick, quarterback Anthony Richardson, for a gain of 50-plus yards midway through the second day of the three-day session. A transfer from South Dakota State, Case played mostly on special teams in his one season with the Illini.
Vanderslice, an enormous prospect at 6-8, 329 pounds, is a developmental project on the offensive line, a former tight end who made 20 starts at Northern Iowa, and Woods is a 6-2, 294-pounder who was mostly a run -stuffer at Illinois.
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Colts sign Butler WR Tyler Adams after rookie minicamp tryout