The Indianapolis Colts added veteran defensive end Carl Lawson to the practice squad on Wednesday, turning to a familiar name as injuries thin the edge of their defensive line.
The club released tight end Kenny Fletcher Jr. from the practice squad to make room. NFL insider Jordan Schultz first reported the move, and the team confirmed it later in the day.
Lawson, 31, is not a stranger to the scheme he is walking into.
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo held the same job in Cincinnati for Lawson’s final two seasons with the Bengals, so the terminology and the way the front is asked to rush should not require a full reintroduction.
That continuity is part of the appeal for a player who has spent most of the past year looking for a roster.
The résumé is longer than the recent tape. A fourth-round pick out of Auburn in 2017, Lawson has played 90 career games with 34 starts for the Bengals, Jets, Cowboys and Ravens.
He has 135 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and 32 career sacks. Twenty of those sacks came in Cincinnati, including a career-high 8.5 as a rookie.
After a three-year, $45 million free-agent deal with the Jets in 2021, he tore his Achilles before playing a regular-season snap and did not return until 2022.
He later posted five sacks in 15 games with Dallas in 2024. Last season with Baltimore was far thinner: one game, one tackle, and a release within two weeks.
Indianapolis had already looked at him. Lawson worked out for the Colts in the weeks after rotational defensive end Micheal Clemons went on injured reserve with a toe injury suffered in a Week 2 overtime loss to Kansas City.
The need grew on Sunday in London, when starter Arden Key left the win over Washington with a hamstring injury. Head coach Shane Steichen said Monday that Key will miss some time, without committing to injured reserve.
A practice-squad deal lets the Colts be patient. Lawson can be elevated for up to three games before the club has to decide whether he belongs on the 53-man roster.
For a pass rush that has leaned on a small group and is now short two bodies, the signing is a low-cost bet on a player who has produced before and already knows the coordinator calling the defense.
Whether the 32 sacks still describe the player on the field, or whether last year’s single tackle is the more current number, is what Indianapolis is about to find out.
