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INDIANAPOLIS – Injuries are mounting up at the safety position, so the Colts made a somewhat noteworthy regular season move on Tuesday afternoon.
The team signed veteran safety Mike Mitchell, who comes to Indianapolis with 83 career starts in 137 career games played.
Mitchell, who stands 6-1 and 221 pounds, spent the previous 4 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Back in March, the Steelers released Mitchell as he was heading into the final season of a five-year deal inked back in 2014.
With the Colts, Mitchell could see some serious action as early as Sunday.
During Monday’s practice, the Colts only had 1 safety healthy enough to participate (George Odum).
Clayton Geathers (neck/concussion) and Matthias Farley (hamstring) both left Thursday’s loss to the Patriots with respective injuries.
Malik Hooker has missed practice throughout the season, yet still has easily played the most snaps of any Colts’ defensive player (352 snaps, 95.9 percent). Corey Moore, the team’s other safety, was not spotted at Monday’s practice due to an unspecified reasoning.
With Geathers and Farley’s statuses definitely up in the air for Week Six, that’s where the Mitchell signing comes into play.
Mitchell is known for his physical nature to the safety position, one that could fill a potential void from Geathers, who is dealing with another neck injury. Mitchell, a 10-year veteran, has been fined twice during his NFL career for various hits.
In joining the Colts, Mitchell easily becomes the oldest defensive back in Indianapolis.
Prior NFL stops for Mitchell had him in Oakland (2009-12), Carolina (2013) and Pittsburgh (2014-17).
Tuesday’s corresponding roster move saw the Colts waive cornerback Lenzy Pipkins. The often-moved Pipkins was expendable with the team getting injured corners Kenny Moore and Quincy Wilson back to practice on Monday.
