AFC Notes: Mo Alie-Cox, Dameon Pierce, Colts, Jaguars, Texans

Colts

Colts TE Mo Alie-Cox has played for five seasons and that’s enough to make him the crusty veteran of a deep group of tight ends in Indianapolis. He’s the highest-paid and in theory the most secure of the bunch given his experience and more importantly the half of his 2023 base salary that’s already guaranteed. But Alie-Cox isn’t afraid of the competition. 

“We always preach competition around here,” Alie-Cox said via FOX 59’s Mike Chappell. “You’ve gotta look forward to it. Can’t get down. Just build each up along the way.”

The Colts have seven tight ends on the roster right now, also including 2022 third-rounder Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson, fifth-rounder Will Mallory, 2022 sixth-rounder Andrew Ogletree, plus veterans Pharoah Brown and Kaden Smith who were signed this offseason. There’s room for three or four on the final roster, which makes the competition between Mallory and Granson an interesting one to watch given both would fill similar roles. 

“We knew it was a good tight end draft,” Colts GM Chris Ballard said. “All of a sudden you look up and Mallory is there in the fifth round and [HC] Shane [Steichen] looked at me and said, ‘Chris, this guy is really good.’ You never just want to pass up a good player. I mean, the kid’s got length, he can run. He’s been productive in college. He’s a really good fit for what we want. It’s just going to create real competition at the position. That’s OK. That’s a good thing. That makes you better.”

Mallory’s status as a rookie likely would put him ahead of the third-year Granson even though he was a fourth-round pick in 2021. But he’s not going down without a fight, putting in some good work at spring OTAs. 

“Gosh, he’s got great route-running ability,” Steichen said. “I’m really pleased where he’s at. He understands the game of football really well.  He understands leverage, technique . . . how to get himself open.”

Jaguars

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league hasn’t yet considered having a team play more than two games consecutively internationally. Currently, the Jaguars are scheduled to play back-to-back games in London.

“We like to take things in increments,” Goodell said, via Jags Wire. “I think one of the things we always focus on — pretty much with everything we do, but I’ll put it specifically to the international games — is to learn from our experience every year. To try something a little different and understand the impact of that. This is the first time we’re going to have a team stay a week and play consecutive games. I think we’ll learn from that and that’s the intent of it, ultimately. To see what’s the impact to the Jaguars, in this case. We’ll evaluate that after we’re done. At some point, would we try three? Possibly. But I think the focus is to try to do two and see what the impact is first, and then we’ll go from there.”

Texans

Texans first-round QB C.J. Stroud said it’s been great to work with RB Dameon Pierce and said that his presence in the locker room is great for the team.

“Yeah, D.P. (Dameon Pierce) is amazing, man,” Stroud said, via Texans Wire. “D.P. is a dog, somebody who’s not only going to have your back running the ball, but he’s going to pass protect. More so than that, he’s just a great person. Just being around him a little, getting to know him every other day, he’s hilarious. He’s always very upbeat, very positive, and wants to work and wants to get better. I accept a lot of feedback from him. He likes feedback from me. We’ve just been enjoying working with each other, so it’s been a blessing to have someone like D.P.”