INDIANAPOLIS -- If getting blown out wasn’t bad enough, Indianapolis Colts receiver Da'Rick Rogers added to the embarrassment when he tried to punt himself off the roster.
Rogers caught a 7-yard pass from quarterback Chandler Harnish in the fourth quarter when the Colts were down 28-0. Rather than hand the ball to the official or drop it on the ground, Rogers attempted to be a very poor man’s version of punter Pat McAfee.
Rogers turned toward the stands and punted the ball. Yes, a player who is trying to make the roster showed his immaturity and punted the ball into the stands.
Bad move.
“I wasn’t thinking,” Rogers said. “That’s on me. That’s just my misunderstanding of the rules of the game and that’s all on me. It was just a mistake.”
Rogers was given an unsportsmanlike penalty and coach Chuck Pagano and some of his veteran teammates gave him an earful when he made his way back to the sideline.
“It’s unacceptable,” Pagano said. “It does not represent anything we’re about. I apologize to our fans.”
The Colts could keep six receivers on the roster, but Rogers likely will be the odd man out if they only keep five. Rogers’ talent has never been questioned. Maturity issues going all the way back when he was at Tennessee continue to follow him.
“At an all-time high,” he said when asked if he’s worried about making the team. “With the room that we have and the talent that we have in our room, every day is a competition. You got to come out and work.”
