ALAMEDA Joey Bosa Jersey , Calif. (AP)The Oakland Raiders released cornerback Sean Smith and right tackle Marshall Newhouse on Monday to create more salary cap room heading into free agency.The Raiders also officially announced the signing of defensive tackle Justin Ellis to a three-year contract and signed receiver Griff Whalen to a one-year deal. Ellis had agreed to the deal last week to stay off the free-agent market but it was not announced until Monday.Smith is also facing legal problems. He will plead guilty Tuesday to a felony count of assault with great bodily injury in connection with an altercation in Pasadena last year, according to the attorney for the alleged victim.Smith was accused of assaulting his sister’s then-boyfriend, Christopher Woods, on July 4. Two witnesses testified during a preliminary hearing in December that Smith stomped Woods’ head as he lay bleeding and unconscious.Smith will be sentenced to one year in jail and five years of probation in Los Angeles County Superior Court.Attorney Jonathan Dennis said Woods ”felt the sentence, obviously, was not as strict as it should have been, but he’s pleased he’s admitting guilt.”Smith was signed as a big-ticket free agent in 2016 to a four-year, $38 million deal. But he never played up to that level and the Raiders have decided to cut him instead of paying him $8.5 million this year.Smith got benched in his first game with the Raiders after getting burned by New Orleans’ Brandin Cooks for a 98-yard touchdown. He allowed opposing quarterbacks to post a 116.5 passer rating when targeting him in 2016, according to SportRadar.Smith struggled again early in 2017 and was replaced in the starting lineup by TJ Carrie, before finishing the season strong after John Pagano replaced fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. for the final six games.Smith allowed just 15 catches on 27 targets for 202 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions over the final six games for a passer rating of 64.1 as Pagano better took advantage of Smith’s size and strength. That was down from a 113.3 rating in his one-plus season under Norton.Oakland will again seek to bolster the secondary in free agency, looking for a starter at cornerback to pair with last year’s first-round pick Gareon Conley.Carrie is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday and is free to talk to potential suitors this week.Newhouse started 14 games last season for the Raiders but new coach Jon Gruden said at the combine that the play at right tackle last season was inconsistent.Ellis was originally a fourth-round pick by Oakland in 2014. He has started 41 of the 60 games he has played in during four seasons with the Raiders and is strong against the run.Whalen has played 43 games over six seasons in the NFL. He has 51 catches for 532 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 47 punt returns for 378 yards and 29 kickoff returns for 701 yards.—Associated Press Writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report— INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts made a firm commitment to Matt Eberflus in January.They stuck to it after the man who initially hired Eberflus to be Indy’s defensive coordinator Tony Pollard Jersey , Josh McDaniels, reneged on a deal to become the next coach and they lived up to their promise after eventually hiring Frank Reich in February.It’s worked out well for the Colts.“He’s a consistent guy, he’s got a consistent message every day and he believes in the system,” middle linebacker Anthony Walker said Tuesday. “That’s what you want as a player, a guy who believes in the system.”The system looks awfully familiar to longtime Colts’ fans.Eberflus reinstalled the Tampa 2 defense, the zone concept popularized by Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy. General manager Chris Ballard saw it work in Chicago under Lovie Smith, one of Dungy’s former pupils, and Reich worked with it on Dungy’s staff when he first started coaching in 2006. Indy capped that season by winning the Super Bowl.The low-key personalities and focused approaches also proved a perfect match.But the real investment came in free agency and the draft.While Colts fans waited impatiently for Ballard to make a splashy move, he mostly avoided the high-priced free agents and instead went with less-familiar names who could excel in Eberflus’ system.The results have been remarkable.Linebacker Darius Leonard, a second-round pick, has a league-high 104 tackles and Walker has 67 tackles Noah Fant Jersey , nearly four times as many as he had in 2017.Defensive end Kemoko Turay has shown flashes of being a disruptive pass rusher and Tyquan Lewis showed promise in his first two games after missing the first eight with an injured toe. Both were second-round draft picks in April.“We’re getting to the ball, causing turnovers,” Leonard said. “We don’t do a lot, there’s not a lot of thinking so it’s very easy for me to go out and play.”Not just for the young guys, either.Jabaal Sheard moved from outside linebacker to defensive end and already has matched his sacks total (5½) from last season. Veteran defensive linemen Margus Hunt has gone from rotation player to starter and has had a career-best season.Safeties Clayton Geathers and Malik Hooker have been rounding into form after missing most of last season and part of this season with injuries, and outsiders have noticed a difference.“They hustle. They have great team effort. They have very good team speed. They stunt the front and they are all very good hitters,” Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden said recently. “They seem to really like each other. They seem to have a really good, I think, overall down to down competitive nature about them.”The individual numbers only tell part of the story.After finishing 30th in the league in yards allowed per game in 2016 and 2017 and 26th or worse in four of Chuck Pagano’s six seasons as head coach, Indy has jumped to No. 20 this season. Through 10 games, they have 26 sacks and are on pace for their highest total since 2013.The Colts have allowed 17.5 points to their past four opponents and only four teams have more takeaways than Indy (19).Not surprisingly Dalton Risner Jersey , the Colts (5-5) have won all four, moving back into the playoff picture largely because of a defensive resurgence few expected in Eberflus’ first season.“I think you have to go through this process. Sometimes you take a couple steps forward and one step back or three or four steps forward and one or two back,” Eberflus said. “But it’s really about the guys buying into it.”It could be just the start.The young Colts are still getting acclimated to Eberflus and his scheme, are still learning how to play consistently well and still must demonstrate they can withstand the late-season rigors to make a playoff run.But for the first time in a long time, the Colts’ defense no longer looks like the weak link. Instead, Eberflus has demonstrated just how promising the future could be.“I think guys are buying into the style slowly but it’s not consistent yet,” Eberflus said. “Today in the film room we pointed out all the loafs and all the missed assignments, so we can definitely get better week to week and now it’s about being consistent week to week.”Notes: With the likelihood of starting center Ryan Kelly out with an injured left knee, the Colts signed center Josh Andrews off the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. … Indy also put cornerback D.J. Killings on injured reserve and waived cornerback Arthur Maulet.