INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts waived Indianapolis native Cameron McGrone on Tuesday, potentially bringing an end to the Lawrence Central product’s time with his hometown team in order to steal Buddy Johnson off the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Indianapolis could still bring McGrone back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
But the move to waive McGrone off the 53-man roster shows how far the linebacker has fallen out of favor after opening the season in a timeshare with Joe Bachie on the weak side.
McGrone initially split time with Bachie in the season opener, playing a career-high 22 snaps on defense after seeing just eight snaps in his previous three seasons with Indianapolis. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo indicated after that game that he planned to continue rotating the two, deploying McGrone in specific situations to take advantage of his athleticism.
Indianapolis gave McGrone eight snaps against Denver, then 13 against the Titans in Nashville. McGrone made just one tackle in those 43 snaps, and he gave up a 9-yard completion on the only target against him, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
The writing was on the wall on Sunday in Los Angeles.
McGrone did not play a single defensive snap against the Rams, giving way to veteran Chad Muma, who played 10 snaps for Indianapolis.
The Colts still used McGrone on 15 snaps in the kicking game, but he hasn’t been as productive there as the rest of the linebacker room. McGrone has made one tackle on special teams so far; Bachie leads the Colts with five, Austin Ajiake and Segun Olubi have four and Muma has three.
The rest of the NFL has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to claim McGrone off waivers. If his time in Indianapolis is done, McGrone will end up spending parts of four seasons with his hometown team, the team that plucked him off the New England practice squad late in his second NFL season and gave him a chance.
McGrone has been able to be a part of the kicking game for the past three years.
But it is possible another team will want to pick him up on the wire.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts waive Indianapolis native Cameron McGrone after he loses defensive role
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
