INDIANAPOLIS – Honestly, the Colts are too committed to the run game not to have a fullback on their roster.
They made sure that dying breed in the NFL ended for them on Saturday by signing fullback Roosevelt Nix (5-11, 248 pounds) to a one-year contract.
Nix, 28, is the first fullback for the Colts since Stanley Havili in 2013. In prior year, the Colts have used a variety of tight ends in a lead blocking role (Jack Doyle, Dwayne Allen and Ryan Hewitt). Even Quenton Nelson got a fullback snap last season.
It was Hewitt who played 182 snaps for Frank Reich’s offense in 2018, occasionally lining up as a blocking fullback. But in 2019, the Colts decided to abort the idea of using a player in that ‘H-back role.’
If Nix goes on to make the 2020 roster, he will give Reich and the Colts another dimension to their run game.
A lead blocking presence in front of Marlon Mack and the other Colts runners would add to a productive rushing attack, behind one of the league’s best offensive lines.
While Nix’s professional career has included hardly any role of him carrying the football, his 248-pound frame could be used in short-yardage situations for the Colts.
Since joining the NFL as undrafted free agent in 2014, Nix has played 60 career games, all with the Steelers.
Pittsburgh released Nix last month, with 2 years still remaining on a 4-year extension that he signed back in 2018. It was reported that Nix requested to be released by the Steelers. Nix played just 3 games last season for the Steelers, as he dealt with a knee injury.
Throughout Nix’s time in Pittsburgh, he hardly touched the football. He has 4 career carries and 12 total catches.
Any chance for Nix to make the Colts will have to come with a role on special teams, something he did in Pittsburgh in a leading role from 2015-18.
With the Colts probably a number short at running back and tight end right now—and the draft could change that later this month—there’s a definite opportunity for Nix to make the team.
