The Colts are heading into their bye week banged up in the secondary, so they made a move to address that area on Tuesday.
The team has announced that they’ve signed cornerback Darius Butler to help ranks thinned by injuries to Vontae Davis and Justin King. Davis had an MRI on his ankle on Monday and King is dealing with a groin injury. Coach Chuck Pagano said that he hopes to have both players back for the Week Five game against the Packers, although their status will remain up in the air a little longer.
Butler was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2009 and spent two years with New England before getting waived prior to the start of the 2011 season. He hooked on with the Panthers, but was one of their final cuts this summer. He’s started 14 games and played extensively on special teams in his career, so the Colts will at least have one more experienced hand on board as they prepare to face Aaron Rodgers and company.
The Colts released offensive lineman Trai Essex to make room for Butler on the roster. Essex signed after the first Colts game of the year and saw action in each of their last two contests.