Antonio

Morrison

Green Bay traded for Morrison last August because of several injuries at linebacker, but they did not want to pay the $2.025 million he was owed in 2019. Morrison ended up playing 299 mediocre snaps before being shown the door. The 2016 fourth-rounder has now been let go by two franchises in the span of seven months.

Only two of the Colts’ eight picks have yet to sign. Morrison was a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection in his senior year at Florida. He’ll be in the mix for snaps along with Nate Irving, Josh McNary and Sio Moore behind D’Qwell Jackson.

The No. 125 overall pick of last year’s draft, Morrison made four rookie starts, including Weeks 16 and 17. On the whole, he had a rough year, playing down to his disastrous 5.1 40-yard dash while displaying little instinct. The Colts need Morrison to be a two-down thumper.

Green Bay was in need of linebacker depth after losing Jake Ryan to an ACL tear. Third-round rookie Oren Burks (shoulder) is also banged up. Morrison led the Colts with 108 tackles last year despite earning PFF’s second-worst grade out of 52 qualifiers at inside linebacker. Pipkins had been working with the third-team cornerbacks at Packers camp.

Morrison (6'1/233) made 37 starts for the Gators, logging 21 career tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He earned first-team All-SEC as a senior. Morrison suffered a torn left meniscus with cartilage damage at the end of his junior season that may have cost him mobility, as he ran a painfully slow 5.1 40-yard dash at Florida’s Pro Day, struggling mightily in agility tests. Morrison was an aggressive, downhill run defender in the SEC, but at the NFL level he will be an athletically-challenged, undersized player. Perhaps he’ll carve out a career like Brandon Spikes’, but that is Morrison’s ceiling.

Morrison was recovering from a staph infection that sidelined him at the Combine. Per Wells, doctors “urged” Morrison not to run at the Pro Day. Colts coach Chuck Pagano wasn’t deterred by the slow time, and instead came away impressed with Morrison’s toughness. “The guy is a great competitor,” Pagano said. “You just put the tape on, and after a couple plays, it’s like, wow.” Morrison will compete with Sio Moore, Nate Irving and Josh McNary for time at inside ‘backer.