The Indianapolis Colts today signed free agent inside linebacker Darnell Sankey and waived-injured cornerback Tevin Mitchel. If Mitchel clears waivers, he will revert to the Colts Injured Reserve List.
The team also restored center/guard Brian Schwenke to the active roster from the Physically Unable to Perform List.
Sankey, 6-2, 250 pounds, most recently spent time with the Minnesota Vikings in training camp before being waived on August 20, 2017. He spent time on the practice squads of the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders as a rookie in 2016. Sankey was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent on July 26, 2016. He participated in the Broncos' 2016 offseason program and training camp before being waived on August 29.
Collegiately, Sankey played in 43 games at Sacramento State and compiled with 330 tackles (124 solo), 27.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and nine passes defensed. His 330 tackles ranked fourth in school history. As a senior in 2015, Sankey finished the season ranked second in the Football Championship Subdivision and first in the Big Sky Conference with 153 total tackles. He earned numerous awards following his senior year, including First Team All-Big Sky Conference recognition and First Team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association. Sankey also garnered All-America recognition from STATS, Inc., the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was the first consensus All-American in Sacramento State's Division I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision history.
Mitchel, 6-0, 192 pounds, signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 2, 2017. He spent time on the team's practice squad last season. In 2015, Mitchel spent the entire season on Indianapolis' Injured Reserve List. He was originally selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Arkansas.
