Colts waive former draft pick to make room on roster for kicker Chase McLaughlin

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INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts had to make a move.

Indianapolis has been taking advantage of the NFL’s expanded practice squad rules for three weeks by keeping kicker Chase McLaughlin there, elevating him on game day and protecting a spot on the 53-man roster.

But the NFL’s rules only allow a team to do that with a player three times, and Indianapolis needs McLaughlin for Thursday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.

The Colts waived a former draft pick to make room.

Indianapolis waived wide receiver Dezmon Patmon, a sixth-round pick by the Colts in 2020, to make room for McLaughlin on the 53-man roster.

No one claimed Patmon, according to the NFL Network, allowing Indianapolis to bring him back to the practice squad.

The Colts were comfortable making that move.

Patmon has spent the first four weeks of the season as the Colts’ sixth receiver. The only receiver routinely inactive on game days, Patmon has fallen firmly behind Michael Strachan for the fifth spot and has played just 24 snaps, making two catches for 24 yards against Jacksonville in a game where the Colts didn’t have starting wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce.

Three seasons into his career, Patmon has four catches for 45 yards, the biggest coming on a sliding game-winner in the back of the Arizona end zone on Christmas night last year.

By comparison, he’s fallen behind Strachan, who has three catches for 59 yards in 61 snaps and has been active in all four games.

Brought in to replace Rodrigo Blankenship after he missed the game-winning kick in the opener, McLaughlin has made 3 of 4 field goals and 4 of 4 extra points, the miss coming on a 51-yard attempt against Tennessee in the fourth quarter last week.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts waive Dezmon Patmon to make roster room for K Chase McLaughlin