After a disappointing 8-8 season, the Indianapolis Colts need to take a hard look at their roster as a whole. Not only do they have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL, but the team also has a lot of players who have not panned out. One of their most disappointing players is outside linebacker Bjoern Werner, and the team needs to cut ties with him as soon as possible.
The Colts selected Werner in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He developed into an effective college pass rusher in three years at Florida State University. Werner finished his three-year Seminoles career with 23.5 sacks, including 13 sacks in his final season. With that sort of production in college, it’s easy to see why the Colts wanted Werner in the first place. Unfortunately, he has never lived up to the high expectations the team had for him.
In three seasons with the Colts, Werner only started in 16 of the 38 games he played in. He has only accumulated 6.5 sacks and 81 combined tackles in his career. Clearly, the main problem the Colts have with Werner is he failed to make the most of his opportunities. The Colts were hoping to see improvement from him in 2015, but sadly, things only got worse for the former first-round pick.
In the 2015 season, Werner only earned 13 combined tackles in 10 games. His pass-rushing skills were nonexistent as he failed to register a sack and barely pressured opposing quarterbacks this season. As a result, Werner, who was healthy all season, did not suit up in the final six games. This fact is a clear indication that Werner is not worth a roster spot even when he is healthy.
The Colts are now aiming for multiple Super Bowls, which means they cannot have underachieving players on their roster. Werner is an underachiever who has given the Colts no reason to believe he will be a productive player for them in the future. The Colts should do themselves a favor and cut ties with their 2013 first-round bust.
