Indianapolis Colts sign former Steelers WR James Washington

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver James Washington has signed with the Indianapolis Colts, the team announced on Friday.

Washington spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh, but has had little consistency since the start of last season. He joined the Dallas Cowboys last offseason but was released by the end of the season. He entered the offseason as a free agent before getting picked up by the New York Giants. That didn’t work out and ended up on the New Orleans Saints’ roster, but was released again earlier this week.

He ended up only playing in two games for the Cowboys in 2022 after injuring his left foot in the spring and fracturing his right foot in training camp.

In four seasons with the Steelers, the second-round draft pick totaled 114 receptions for 1,629 yards and 11 touchdowns. Prior to the NFL, Washington was also a standout at Oklahoma State and went No. 60 overall to Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

In addition to signing Washington, the Colts placed defensive end Genard Avery on the Injured Reserve list. He will replace the injured Malik Turner, who Indianapolis waived. If Turner clears waivers, he will revert to the Colts IR, according to the announcement.

As well as being a veteran presence in the locker room, Washington will figure to be a key role player in first-year quarterback Anthony Richardson‘s arsenal out wide in 2023.

Richardson had only one year of starting experience in college with the Gators. He made 12 starts last year with a 6-6 record to show for it. He ended up throwing for 2,549 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine picks on a 54% completion percentage. He also added 654 rushing yards and nine more scores on the ground.

He started the Colts’ first preseason game last week. He passed for 67 yards and threw for an interception after playing only a couple of drives. That performance, of course, should not be looked at as an indicator of things to come as Richardson is just getting his feet wet in the NFL. He’s just getting started in reality.

The Colts will kick off its 2023 regular season at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. ET live on FOX. Despite having home-field advantage in the matchup, the Jaguars stand as 3.5-point favorites, per Vegas Insider.