Colts position review: Big changes in store for secondary?
INDIANAPOLIS – They were playing catch-up from the start, constantly plugging and playing, plugging and playing, desperate to keep the back end of a bad unit above water. It never happened.
The Indianapolis Colts played musical chairs at defensive back for 17 weeks in 2016. They started nine different players. One (Darius Butler) started at two positions. One (Darryl Morris) was signed off the street six days before the season opener — and played in that season opener. Another (Rashaan Melvin) was signed four days before the opener — he played, too. A fourth (Antonio Cromartie) was paid a cool $3 million to play four games, then get lost.
Overall the unit continued to regress. The Colts yielded the sixth-most passing yards in the league in 2016 (throw some of that blame on the nonexistent pass rush), compared to ninth-worst in 2015. Most damaging: The unit was routinely gashed in big moments. Like in Week 1 vs. Detroit. In Week 6 vs. Houston. In Week 12 vs. Pittsburgh. In Week 16 vs. Oakland.
Availability was a central factor. In only six of 16 games did the Colts start the same two cornerbacks from the week before. Injuries killed them. So, too, did bad play.
When they signed Patrick Robinson to a three-year, $13.5 million deal last spring, the Colts envisioned him — the team’s only notable free agent signing from 2016 — as a capable No. 2 cornerback opposite Pro Bowler Vontae Davis. Robinson never came close. He fought through a litany of injuries, started just seven games and largely underwhelmed.
At safety, the Colts could realistically feature two new starters in 2017 if the team does in fact choose to slide Clayton Geathers to the inside linebacker spot full-time. Mike Adams is an unrestricted free agent and would be 36 next season. He hopes to return, but at his age, it appears unlikely.
It’s another line on new general manager Chris Ballard’s to-do list, which is already plenty long. After Ballard attacks the team’s messy front seven, he’ll have to fine-tune a secondary that was nowhere consistent enough in 2016. A closer look at the Colts’ defensive back situation:
How it went
A freak injury to Davis in late August — his ankle landed awkwardly on a teammate during practice — cost him the first two games of the season. He started the final 14 despite battling through another ankle injury, a concussion and a groin injury. By late November, he’d spent as many days on the practice field (14) as he had off it (14). He was solid, if not the spectacular Davis of old — he played through an injury in the Colts’ Thanksgiving loss to Pittsburgh and was routinely torched by Antonio Brown. It was evident Davis wasn’t himself. Same could be said for the entire season.
“This game, man, is a 100 percent injury rate,” Davis said then.
With the defense’s best player on the mend late in training camp the team signed veteran Antonio Cromartie off the street to temporarily fill the void left by Davis, dishing out $3 million guaranteed for the former Colts killer. After solid play early, Cromartie was undressed in the Colts’ loss to the Jaguars in London in Week 4. Two days later, he was cut.
In the first year of his deal, Robinson was a bust. The low point arrived in Week 5 when little-known Bears receiver Cameron Meredith got the best of him time and again. By early December, Robinson was placed on injured reserve.
Morris and Melvin performed about as well one would expect for a pair of cornerbacks signed off the street before Week 1. By midseason, the injuries forced the Colts to get creative. They slid Darius Butler, the steady slot corner, into the free safety spot. Suffice to say he nailed the audition. After the year was over, Butler, an unrestricted free agent next month, expressed a desire to move to the position full-time.
Rookie T.J. Green, a second-round pick out of Clemson, proved two things in 2016: that he can hit, and that he still needs plenty of seasoning. The talented safety was flagged seven times in 2016: on three occasions for running into the kicker and twice for unnecessary roughness.
What we learned
It’s vital to note the utter lack of a pass rush played a significant role in the Colts’ defensive backfield struggles in 2016. In giving the quarterback all day to throw out of a clean pocket, the defense is putting untold stress on its secondary. The players know this. The coaches know this. No pass rush, no chance.
Davis and his $9 million salary for 2017 aren’t going anywhere — the Colts simply don’t have a choice. On a defense largely devoid of playmakers, Davis might be the most consistent. Remove him from the equation and the Colts wouldn’t have a fighting chance.
At first, Butler filled in at safety during training camp simply out of necessity — the Colts were losing players at that position what seemed like every afternoon. He proved quickly he had a knack for it, earning the trust of coaches and teammates. He started at the free safety spot twice in the regular season, performing well each time, and after the season ended offered hope he could return to the Colts in 2017 at that position.
“The more you can do,” Butler wisely noted.
He’s right. A 30-year-old cornerback with eight years experience, Butler’s versatility could become a legitimate bargaining point in contract negotiations. There’s a handful of cornerback-to-safety converts (Charles Woodson comes to mind) who’ve proven in recent years the move can pay off for the player and the team. Butler hopes to do the same.
What’s next
The Colts will have to decide whether or not they want to bring Butler back for a sixth season, Adams for a fourth and Robinson for a second. Butler and Adams are unrestricted free agents. Robinson’s coming off a down year and is scheduled to make $4 million in 2017; he figures to return, but it wouldn’t be a stunner if the Colts decide that price tag is simply too much for an injury-plagued corner. As part of that $4 million, Robinson is owed a $1 million bonus on March 14 if he remains on the roster.
Morris and Melvin are under contract through next season and figure to compete for regular playing time.
The safety spot, at this juncture, is far more murky — if Adams doesn’t return, and Geathers slides to a linebacker spot (still a massive if) the Colts could be looking for two new starters next September for the opener. In that scenario, Green figures to be one. Would they zero in on a safety prospect in the draft for the third straight year (Geathers in 2015, Green last year)? It appears a far more likely scenario than the Colts paying big money for one in free agency.
There could be massive turnover on the back end for the Colts in the coming months. And that might not be a bad thing.
Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.
PREVIOUS POSITION REVIEWS:
INSIDE LINEBACKERS: Clayton Geathers on the move?
EDGE RUSHERS: Edge rush needs massive makeover
DEFENSIVE LINE: Disappointed by the defensive line
OFFENSIVE LINE: OL showed legit progress, but work remains
OFFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Looking long term at running back
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