Colts’ Ben Banogu named a roster cut candidate

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Ben Banogu was named a potential roster cut when training camp arrives by ESPN’s Mike Wells.

“Veteran in danger: Ben Banogu, DE

Why he could get cut: Banogu, a second-round pick by the Colts in 2019, played in only nine games in 2020. It wasn’t because Banogu was injured, either. He was inactive for several games because he fell so far down the depth chart. A sign of how the Colts feel about Banogu, who has only 2½ sacks in two seasons, was when they used their first two picks in this year’s draft on defensive ends Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo. “It has to be done on the practice field, it has to be done in drills because we study everything and we look at every single thing that every player does,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said about Banogu in early June. — Mike Wells”

Banogu finds himself in a tough spot entering his third season in the league. He hasn’t been able to make much of an impact since he was drafted and wound up seeing fewer snaps in Year 2 than he did his rookie campaign. For the majority of the second half of the 2020 season, Banogu was a healthy scratch.

After the Colts drafted Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo back in April, Banogu finds himself on the roster bubble. The room is pretty crowded as it currently stands so Banogu will have to show out during training camp and the preseason games.

In 25 career games, Banogu has 2.5 sacks and five quarterback hits. He didn’t record any of those stats during the 2020 season.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the cuts come around, but Banogu finds himself in a tough spot entering training camp.