Indianapolis Colts Tried To Claim Ben Tate

The Indianapolis Colts were the second team in line to claim running back Ben Tate, but the Minnesota Vikings were higher on the waiver wire.

Ben Tate was released by the Cleveland Browns, and immediately became a hot commodity in talks among the NFL world. He was placed on waivers and there were three teams that ended up aggressively putting claims on him. The Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, and the Indianapolis Colts.

Minnesota was the worst team in the league that put a claim in for him, and therefor they were awarded Tate.

Indianapolis desperately needed some help at running back, and Tate would have been a very nice fit for them. The Colts lost Ahmad Bradshaw to a broken leg last week against the New England Patriots, and moving forward with just Trent Richardson in the backfield doesn’t sound too promising. Dan “Boom” Herron will also be available for the Colts, but he simply isn’t the answer for the Colts either.

It’s good to see that Ryan Grigson was still very aggressive in his pursuit of Tate, but they didn’t get lucky enough to steal him. At this point, it doesn’t appear that the Colts are going to go after anyone in free agency, and will instead give Herron the first chance to fill in for Bradshaw.

Pep Hamilton has shown a very pass heavy offensive gameplan to this point in the season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him put the football in Andrew Luck‘s hands even more now.

The Colts still could make a move or two in free agency, but there are no players out there that could make the impact that Tate would have. Richardson has shown flashes here and there this season, and now he will truly get a chance to break out and show his full potential. This is the chance that he has been waiting for all season long.