Colts add 4 free agents, including former Notre Dame basketball player

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts signed Cam Taylor-Britt, Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Owens and former Notre Dame basketball player Carson Towt on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Towt appeared in 154 college basketball games with Northern Arizona and Notre Dame. He averaged 5.9 points and nine rebounds a game this past season for the Fighting Irish.

He finished his career with 1,383 points, 1,357 rebounds and 420 assists and hopes to join a long list of former basketball players who have made the transition to tight end in the NFL, a group that includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates.

That list also includes former VCU standout Mo Alie-Cox, who re-signed with the Colts on Monday. Alie-Cox has been a key blocker in Indy’s running game.

The additions of Taylor-Britt, Owens and Tillery should help with depth at two positions Indy was attempting to improve this offseason.

Owens, who is married to Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles, had 18 total tackles in his first three seasons with the Houston Texans then started all 17 games and finished with a career-high 125 tackles in 2022 before joining Green Bay in 2023. He started 11 of 17 games with the Packers, finishing with 84 tackles then spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears. But after having 49 tackles and his second career interception in 2024, he had only 19 tackles in 2025.

Indy is hoping Owens can help fill the void left by the recent departure of starting safety Nick Cross.

Taylor-Britt appeared in 47 games, starting 40, over the past four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. He had 203 tackles, 38 passes defensed, seven interceptions — two of which he returned for touchdowns and a half sack with the Bengals. The move also reunites Taylor-Britt, a second-round draft pick in 2022, with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

The Los Angeles Chargers selected Tillery in the first round of the 2019 draft, No. 28 overall, out of Notre Dame. In seven seasons, he's appeared in 113 games, with 195 tackles, had 14 sacks, forced four fumbles and recovered three.

His most productive season came in 2021 with the Chargers when he had 51 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks. He's also played for the Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and last season with the Kansas City Chiefs and general manager Chris Ballard has said he wanted to improve the defensive front in free agency and through the draft.

Terms of the deals were not immediately available.

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