INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts have had their first player opt out for the 2020 season.
On Tuesday afternoon, the team announced that linebacker Skai Moore had informed the organization of his plans to sit out this year.
This is the first player to have opted out for the Colts, as Indianapolis has so far dodged names in quantity, or quality, deciding not to play this season. Entering Tuesday, the Colts were 1 of 9 teams to have not had a player opt out, with 50 guys around the league having already chosen not to play.
Currently, two Colts (Malik Henry and Jackson Porter) remain on the COVID-19 list after testing began league wide last week.
The 25-year-old Moore played in 9 games as a rookie in 2018 and actually started as an undrafted free agent in the ‘18 season opener.
But he played in just 1 game last year, mostly spending time on the team’s practice squad.
Moore was a longshot to make the team’s 53-man roster this year. The linebacker group of the Colts is the deepest on the roster, with Moore the only other linebacker on the roster having not been drafted by Chris Ballard.
He was due $625,000 for this season, which is a contract that will come off the books and roll over to 2021.
With Moore’s decision, the Colts have 7 linebackers on the current roster: Matthew Adams, Zaire Franklin, Jordan Glasgow (rookie), Darius Leonard, Bobby Okereke, E.J. Speed, Anthony Walker.
The deadline for players deciding to opt out is Thursday at 4:00 PM.
Players that opt out will receive a stipend for 2020, which is $350,000 for ‘high-risk’ players and $150,000 for ‘low-risk’ players.
It is not yet known why Moore specifically decided to opt out.
