Colts sign Christine Michael, waive Brandon Radcliff

The Indianapolis Colts today made a roster move at the running back position, signing Christine Michael and waiving Brandon Radcliff.

Michael has spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers during his NFL career, playing in 37 games and starting nine of them. He has rushed for 1,080 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.3 yards per carry, while he has added 26 receptions for 135 yards and one score. He enjoyed his best career season in 2016 while spending time with the Seahawks (nine games played and seven starts) and the Packers (six games played), rushing for 583 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He also caught 22 passes for 107 yards and a score.

He was originally drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and spent the first two seasons of his career there before he was traded to the Cowboys shortly before the 2015 season. The Cowboys cut him midway through the season and, after spending time on the Redskins practice squad, he was signed by the Seahawks in December. He had enough success that he received a new contract the following offseason, and he started seven games for the Seahawks in 2016 before he was cut midseason. The Packers claimed him off of waivers, and they actually re-signed him earlier this offseason only to cut him shortly after the draft.

This signing makes sense for the Colts, as Michael is a guy who was Seattle’s starting running back at the beginning of last year and who has NFL experience. With Chris Ballard continually looking at the market to see where competition can be upgraded, it seems like signing Michael in favor of Radcliff, an undrafted free agent signing, makes sense. Michael will need to really impress to earn a spot on the roster, but he’s an interesting guy to bring in this offseason to see what he can do in Indy.

To create room for Michael, the Colts waived Radcliff, who had been signed as an undrafted free agent by the Colts out of Louisville shortly after the draft. During his collegiate career, he rushed for 2,365 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per rush.