The toughest time of the year for the business side of football is happening right now, as teams scramble to put together their final 53-man rosters before Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. E.T. deadline.
Selecting the right players also means identifying the wrong ones, and moving on. The Indianapolis Colts did just that with a former exciting draft selection of theirs by waiving tight end Jelani Woods.
Woods was drafted in the third round of 2022's NFL Draft by the Colts. At the time, it was an exciting pick due to Woods' athletic profile. The 6-foot-7, 253 pound tight end scored a perfect 10.00 relative athletic score, a tool used to evaluate a prospect's athletic ability. Woods became the top-ranked tight end ever tested at the time.
The former Virginia Cavalier's rookie season showed plenty of promise as well. Woods recorded 25 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns and showed progress as a blocker.
The Colts appeared to have their Mo Alie-Cox clone. Then, Woods caught the injury bug.
Woods missed the entirety of 2023 with a hamstring injury. He would make his return the following summer in training camp but again suffered a season-ending injury, this time to his toe, in a preseason contest against the Cardinals.
The Colts placed Woods on season-ending injured reserve yet again, confirming he would miss two consecutive seasons.
In his time off the field, the Colts tight end position evolved. Indianapolis spent their first-round pick in 2025 on Tyler Warren, who's projected to be their starter as a rookie. Drew Ogletree, who Indy drafted the same year as Woods, has progressed as a red zone receiving threat. Mo Alie-Cox remains the everpresent, reliable blocker he's always been.
Woods had a chance in training camp to compete with Will Mallory for the fourth and final place on the depth chart. Indy's recent decision to cut ties with Woods make it clear that Mallory beat him out by a significant margin.
It's an unfortunate outcome for a player who had so much potential in Indianapolis. Woods is likely to land an opportunity elsewhere around the league as an addition at the bottom of the depth chart or practice squad piece, where he'll have a shot to revive his career.