The Indianapolis Colts have already traded away one defensive tackle, DeForest Buckner, and could move another, Grover Stewart.
But they aren’t totally giving up on investing in that position. In fact, they made an attempt to add a 26-year-old DT earlier this week.
They just weren’t able to complete the move due to the rules surrounding the NFL’s waiver claim process.
Instead of the Colts getting Jonah Laulu, the Tennessee Titans got him instead.
Why Colts Didn’t Get Jonah Laulu
It was reported on Wednesday that the Titans had landed Laulu off of waivers.
The report emerged on Thursday that the Colts were one of the teams who had placed a claim on Laulu.
The full list, shared by NFL insider Jordan Schultz, included the Colts, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots and Texans — along with the Titans.
The problem is that the Titans had the highest waiver priority claim.
The waiver claim process depends on each team’s record at the time of the player being waived. The worst team in the league gets first crack at every waived player, and so on.
The Titans have the second-worst record in the league, behind just the winless Los Angeles Chargers. So as soon as the Titans put a claim in for Laulu, as long as the Chargers hadn’t done the same, then he was bound for Tennessee.
The Raiders had waived Laulu, and now he joins the Titans rather than any of the other five teams that put a claim on him.
What To Know About Jonah Laulu
Laulu is a 6-foot-5, 289-pound defensive tackle with 5.5 career sacks.
He was actually a Colts seventh-round draft pick in 2024 after a college career that included stops at Hawaii and Oklahoma.
Now 26, Laulu was in his third season suiting up for the Raiders. He didn’t make the Colts as a rookie, but the Raiders had claimed him off waivers one day after Indy cut him in 2024.
Laulu went on to play all 17 games in each of his first two seasons, including five starts as a rookie and 15 starts last year.
In 2024, Laulu had 35 tackles, including a sack.
In 2025, Laulu made 51 tackles and had 4.0 sacks.
This season, Laulu had played in five games so far for Vegas and had five tackles with half a sack.
Laulu was actually a native of Nevada, which made his time with the Raiders particularly cool, but that’s over now. He’s heading to Nashville to join the Titans, whose waiver claim won out.
Colts Wanted 5.5-Sack Talent But NFL Rules Sent Him Elsewhere in AFC South