In a bit of a surprise prior to the Indianapolis Colts’ Week 1 matchup with the Houston Texans, the team announced that cornerback Dallis Flowers would be inactive, even though he didn’t appear on the injury report that week.
We then learned on Tuesday when defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was speaking with the media, that the decision to make Flowers inactive was special teams related.
Bradley said the decision to have Dallis Flowers inactive was influenced by needs on special teams.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) September 10, 2024
Prior to Flowers’ Achilles injury in 2023, he was the Colts’ primary return man on special teams and that is where his snaps in that phase of the game largely came from.
That, however, is a role that is now filled by rookie Anthony Gould.
In 2022, Flowers did play 142 special teams snaps, including 64 between the kick and punt coverage units. But as of now, the Colts must feel more comfortable with Chris Lammons taking on those responsibilities after elevating him from the practice squad for the opener.
Defensively, the recently claimed Samuel Womack appears to be ahead of Flowers on the depth chart as the first backup option at cornerback.
Flowers was competing with Jaylon Jones this summer for the starting cornerback role opposite of JuJu Brents. Jones, however, would seize control of this battle rather quickly.
In his return from injury, there was some rust to shake off, with Flowers allowing four completions on six targets for 54 yards with two penalties in the Colts’ preseason opener. Flowers did bounce back and perform better in the next two games.
We will see in the coming weeks if this inactive status becomes the norm or is just part of the process in working Flowers back into the rotation.