The Indianapolis Colts finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday. They could still make a few tweaks between now and the season opener Sept. 8, most notably by filing a waiver claim for another team’s released player by Wednesday’s noon ET deadline. But for the most part, this is the roster Indianapolis believes can end its three-year playoff drought.

The Colts placed the tight end on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday after he sustained a turf toe injury in Indy’s second preseason game. Woods said after the game that he didn’t think his toe injury was severe and planned to get it checked out, but six days later he underwent surgery that spelled the end of his third campaign in the NFL.

Woods will miss his second straight season after being sidelined all of last year due to repeated hamstring injuries. He has not played in an NFL game since his rookie season in 2022.

Woods’ season-long absence obviously isn’t ideal, but the Colts should be able to withstand it. Although Woods’ athleticism gave him the most upside of any tight end on the roster, he was inconsistent throughout the preseason and was struggling to climb the depth chart. Indianapolis will now rely on Mo Alie-Cox, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory, all of whom made Indy’s initial 53-man roster.

Alie-Cox and Granson project as starters, while Ogletree and Mallory offer upside as reserves. Granson led Colts tight ends with 30 catches for 368 yards and one touchdown last year. Alie-Cox, who scored two touchdowns in 2023, is the team’s top blocking tight end.

The NFL implemented a new rule this year that allows teams to put two players on injured reserve on roster cut day with the chance for them to return during the regular season. Those two players also do not count against a team’s initial 53-man roster. Indianapolis did not use one of those extra spots on Woods and instead selected starting defensive end Samson Ebukam, who tallied a team-high 9.5 sacks last year, and reserve linebacker Cameron McGrone.