The Indianapolis Colts are considering bringing aboard a new running back.
This one just so happens to have set records earlier in his professional football career, and now he’s available to be signed.
The RB: Ian Wheeler.
The Colts worked him out on Wednesday, according to the NFL’s transactions report.
Wheeler had most recently been with the Buffalo Bills, who had signed him to their roster in June.
The Bills went into the new season without Wheeler, though, despite positive contributions from him in the preseason.
Indy evidently wanted to see specifically what Wheeler could do. They didn’t bring in any other RBs for a workout, just Wheeler, which says it’s less about the position and more about the player.
Who is Ian Wheeler?
Ian Wheeler is a running back who played his college football at Howard University.
He signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted player in 2024 and had 100 yards and two touchdowns across two preseason games that year — including scoring against the Bills, the team that would eventually sign him in 2026.
Wheeler tore his ACL late in the 2024 preseason, though, and so the Bears cut him loose.
He then spent the 2025 season on the Saints practice squad but didn’t get into a game.
That led him to the UFL in spring 2026 to try and prove his worth. With the Louisville Kings, he ran for 541 yards on 83 carries (6.62 yards per carry).
He had four rushing touchdowns in one game on April 26, a new UFL single-game record.
Wheeler capped off his UFL stint by scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the league’s championship game, which earned him United Bowl MVP honors.
That time in a different professional football league was good enough for the Bills to sign Wheeler pretty quickly after he was done shining in Louisville, but Buffalo’s RB depth chart ended up being too crowded to keep him around into this season.
The Colts haven’t signed Wheeler as of Thursday morning, but the fact that they’re interested at all is intriguing.
Colts RB Depth Chart
Of course, interest in a running back also makes you wonder what the Colts may be considering in the big picture.
They’ve got three healthy RBs on the active roster at the moment with Jonathan Taylor, Seth McGowan and DJ Giddens. As long as Taylor is healthy, he’ll receive the vast majority of work in this backfield.
The practice squad includes just one running back at the moment: Davion Booth, an undrafted member of the 2026 draft class who was first with the Browns after the draft and then came to the Colts. Booth was second-team All-SEC in 2024 at Mississippi State.
Some teams like to have five backs in the building. The Colts could also be considering moving on from one of the RBs they currently have.
They also could’ve just had their schedule line up in a way that was convenient to look at Wheeler now in case they need him later.
The Colts play the Commanders across the Atlantic Ocean this week, so it would’ve been an odd week for a new RB signing anyway, but maybe one is coming down the road.
Colts Consider RB From Bills