Colts add former Raven Ty'Son Williams to crowded RB competition
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INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts added another young running back to a crowded competition for roster spots on Tuesday, signing former Ravens running back Ty’Son Williams.
Williams started three games for a depleted Baltimore backfield last season, picked up 185 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, but the Ravens chose to cut him loose this spring, initially placing an exclusive rights free agent tender on the young back, then rescinding it.
An ERFA tender gives a player the league-minimum salary and prohibits the player from signing with any other team.
Indianapolis released undrafted center Alex Mollette to make room, a corresponding move that underscores how deep the Colts have made the competition for the No. 3 running back role behind Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines.
The Colts signed former Denver star Phillip Lindsay last week, paid out guaranteed money to land undrafted free agents D’Vonte Price and C.J. Verdell and still have second-year back Deon Jackson, whose emergence on special teams led to nine games, 13 carries, 31 yards and a touchdown as a rookie in Indianapolis last season.
More: Insider: UDFA Colts RB C.J. Verdell ready to regain 1,000-yard form after remarkable recovery
More: Colts sign Phillip Lindsay, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher, as depth behind Jonathan Taylor
More: Insider: Why Nyheim Hines is so important to a successful Colts offense
Williams, a former undrafted free agent Baltimore kept on its practice squad throughout the 2020 season, was briefly given a chance to start for the Ravens last season after preseason injuries to J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill wiped out Baltimore’s running back room.
The second-year back rushed for 65 yards in the season opener and 77 in the second game against Kansas City, but he fell out of favor when the Ravens turned to veterans Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman in the third week of the season.
Williams had 27 carries for 164 yards in the first three games of the 2021 season; he rushed just eight times for 21 yards after that point, and he'll have to earn a spot in a Colts running back room that keeps getting more crowded.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts add former Raven Ty'Son Williams to crowded RB competition
