Tag: Kenny Moore II

How Kenny Moore’s 3-year contract with the Colts breaks down

Kenny Moore is once again the NFL’s highest-paid slot CB. Here’s how the contract breaks down.

The Indianapolis Colts re-signed cornerback Kenny Moore II to a three-year contract, keeping him in the Circle City through the 2026 season.

Though it wasn’t totally clear whether Moore would return, the two sides eventually got a deal done to secure the talented slot cornerback for the next three campaigns.

The three-year deal is worth $30 million with $16 million fully guaranteed at signing.

Here’s how his contract breaks down, according to Over The Cap:

Three years, $30 million

$6.75 million signing bonus (guaranteed)

2024
– $4.24 million base salary (guaranteed)
– $30,000 per game roster bonus
– Cap Hit: $6.97 million (2.7%)

2025
– $7.99 million base salary ($5.01 million guaranteed)
– $30,000 per game roster bonus
– Cap Hit: $10.75 million (4.1%)

2026
– $9.49 million base salary
– $30,000 per game roster bonus
– Cap Hit: $12.25 million

With Anthony Richardson currently on his rookie contract, the Colts have had a clear theme of front-loading these three-year deals with guaranteed money during the first two seasons. This gives them an out if needed going into 2026.

If the Colts needed to cut or trade Moore going into the 2026 offseason, they would save $10 million in salary-cap space while incurring just a $2.25 million dead cap hit.

Moore returned to form as one of the best slot defenders in the NFL during the 2023 season. This came off the back of a poor season in the first year within Gus Bradley’s defense.

On this new deal, Moore is now the highest-paid slot cornerback in the NFL—the second time in his career he’s achieved the feat.

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Colts to re-sign CB Kenny Moore II to 3-year deal

And it’s official! Kenny Moore II is returning on a three-year deal.

The Indianapolis Colts crossed the finish line with one of their top free agents, signing cornerback Kenny Moore II to a three-year deal on Tuesday.

The three-year extensions have been a theme for general manager Chris Ballard, and Moore is the latest to sign on the dotted line. He was their biggest free agent left to re-sign, bringing back a key piece of the secondary.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the news of the signing.

This is the second time Moore has been the highest-paid slot cornerback in the NFL during his career.

It was reported less than an hour earlier than this news that the Colts were making a strong push to bring Moore back. Now, the ink is on the paper, and the Colts will see the return of their top slot defender.

This is a pretty big deal for the Colts’ secondary, which is a major question mark going into the offseason. With Moore and several other in-house players now under contract before free agency, general manager Chris Ballard can focus on bringing in some outside free agents.

The slot position is becoming increasingly vital, and Moore bounced back in a major way after a disappointing 2022 campaign.

According to Pro Football Focus, Moore’s 96.2 passer rating ranked sixth-best among slot defenders with at least 300 coverage snaps from the slot. His 0.93 yards per snap ranked fourth-best while he allowed 5.31 yards after the catch per reception.

Moore’s stout ability as a run defender from the slot also makes him an important piece of the defense.

 

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Colts making ‘strong push’ to re-sign CB Kenny Moore

The Colts reportedly are making a strong push to re-sign CB Kenny Moore II.

The Indianapolis Colts reportedly are making a strong push to re-sign pending free-agent cornerback Kenny Moore II, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

There has been mutual interest for a deal to get done between the Colts and Moore even though his market appears to be picking up.

The Colts have re-signed many of their top free agents such as Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Tyquan Lewis. Moore is expected to be next on the list.

Being able to re-sign Moore, along with the players that already are back, would be a big deal for Gus Bradley’s defense. The slot position is becoming increasingly vital, and Moore bounced back in a major way after a disappointing 2022 campaign.

According to Pro Football Focus, Moore’s 96.2 passer rating ranked sixth-best among slot defenders with at least 300 coverage snaps from the slot. His 0.93 yards per snap ranked fourth-best while he allowed 5.31 yards after the catch per reception.

Moore’s stout ability as a run defender from the slot also makes him an important piece of the defense.

If they can bring Moore back on a two or three-year deal and then add a cornerback like L’Jarius Sneed via trade or a prospect like Terrion Arnold in the draft, a position of need would turn into a strength.

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Report: ‘A chance remains’ for Colts to re-sign Kenny Moore II

It seems there’s a chance the Colts re-sign Kenny Moore before free agency.

The Indianapolis Colts and cornerback Kenny Moore II are coming up on the legal tampering period, which allows pending free agents to negotiate with other teams.

Before that official time arrives Monday at noon ET, the Colts reportedly still have a chance to re-sign Moore to a contract, per Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star.

Erickson reported that “a chance remains” for a deal to get done before Moore is permitted to negotiate with other teams around the NFL.

One of the top free agents for the Colts set to hit the market, Moore would be a difficult player to replace. Though he’s typically viewed as a slot-only cornerback, he has experience working on the outside.

Moore’s impact goes beyond the strong coverage he put together in the slot during the 2023 season as well. His instincts and tackling abilities against the run make him an impact player in both phases of the game.

Where the Colts and Moore find themselves in terms of his value will be interesting. He’s still one of the best slot defenders in the NFL, but he will be entering his age-29 season.

We’ll see what happens over the next 24 hours before the legal tampering period begins, but it seems there’s still a chance a deal gets done.

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Predicting the fate of every Colts’ pending free agent in 2024

Predicting which Colts’ free agents stay and go in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts are just over a week away from the start of free agency, and there are some big decisions to make when it comes to the players set to hit the market.

Expected to have roughly 14 unrestricted free agents set to hit the market this offseason, the Colts won’t be able to bring all of them back. In fact, it’s likely that most of them find a new home in 2024.

The team’s current standing with the salary cap is among the strongest the NFL.

We took a look at the players the Colts should let walk into free agency and the players who should be re-signed this offseason.

Now, it’s time to predict the fate of every pending free agent for the Colts in 2024.

How the Colts are impacted by NFL’s $255.4M salary cap

How the increased salary cap impacts the Colts in 2024.

The NFL announced the salary cap for the 2024 season, increasing an unprecedented $30 million from the previous campaign up to $255.4 million. How will the Indianapolis Colts be impacted?

With this new figure, the Colts now sit at $72.3 million in salary-cap space (sixth-most) and $68.1 million in effective salary-cap space (fifth-most), according to Over The Cap.

The Colts already knew they were entering into the 2024 offseason among the leaders in salary-cap space. However, the figure the league announced Friday is roughly $10 million more than most teams expected to be working with this offseason.

The extra flexibility might be enough to help the Colts sign multiple contract extensions with some big names like Michael Pittman Jr., Kenny Moore II and Grover Stewart—all of which are slated to be unrestricted free agents in March.

The biggest name is Pittman, who is the catalyst for the offense. A contract extension for the team’s WR1 is expected to be above $20 million annually, and the franchise tag numbers are now official with the announcement of the salary cap.

If the Colts wanted to use the non-exclusive franchise tag on Pittman, it would cost them $21.8 million.

It will be interesting to see how this will shake out for the Colts, but the higher salary-cap number should work in their favor to get deals done with their big-name free agents.

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ESPN lists best free agent fits for Michael Pittman Jr., Kenny Moore II

ESPN’s Matt Bowen believes the Colts are the best fit for Michael Pittman Jr. and Kenny Moore II.

The Indianapolis Colts have a long list of pending free agents who had massive impacts throughout the 2023 season, including wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and cornerback Kenny Moore II.

While it isn’t clear what will happen to either one, there is a level of expectation that both will return to the team on new contracts this offseason.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen listed the best free-agent fits for the top-50 players set to hit the market, which includes Pittman (No. 17) and Moore (No. 31). He agrees with the notion that the best fit for both players.

17. Michael Pittman Jr., WR

Best team fit: Indianapolis Colts

Regardless of whether it’s an extension or the franchise tag, if I were the Colts, I wouldn’t let the talented receiver walk. Pittman has both the production and the great fit in Shane Steichen’s offense. In 2023, he posted a career-high 1,152 receiving yards, with 44.5% of those yards coming after the catch. And with a healthy Anthony Richardson back under center, the Colts have to retain their top target; Pittman can win at all three levels of the field.

Pittman’s case is interesting considering the Colts have the franchise tag in their back pocket if they need it. A contract extension would be the ideal path for both sides, but it’s unclear how far apart they are.

Pittman would be able to fit into most offenses seamlessly as an X-receiver, but his best fit is remaining with the Colts.

As for Moore, Bowen held the same feeling about his best fit on the market.

31. Kenny Moore II, CB

Best team fit: Indianapolis Colts

The best scheme fit for Moore would be staying home with the Colts in defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s system. He’s one of the top slot corners in the NFL, with the ability to match in coverage outside. Moore had three interceptions in 2023 and has picked off 17 passes in his pro career.

Moore’s situation isn’t as cut and dry as Pittman’s even if it the expectation should be that the Colts re-sign him. Where these two sides are in terms of his value remains to be seen. Moore is getting up there in age, but he did just come off arguably his best season.

Regardless, the Colts defense would suffer greatly without Moore’s presence in the slot considering what he provides both in coverage and in run defense.

We’ll see what happens with both players over the next three weeks before the market officially opens, but the best situation for both of them likely is to return to the Colts.

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Ranking Colts’ pending free agents by importance

Ranking the Colts’ most important pending free agents.

The Indianapolis Colts have 14 players set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason with a number of players from that list who were major contributors for the team in 2023.

The Colts, despite having the fifth most cap space in the NFL (roughly $58.9 million) according to Over The Cap, will have to make some potentially tough decisions in regard to how they allocate those funds this offseason

Here, we are ranking these 14 players by their importance to retain for general manager Chris Ballard and Indianapolis in 2024.

 

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent cornerbacks

Top cornerbacks entering free agency in the 2024 offseason

The Carolina Panthers have lacked cornerback depth for a few seasons now. Will this be the offseason where they finally address it?

Here are the top 12 free-agent cornerbacks of 2024:

Colts’ Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore II among underrated 2024 free agents

Kenny Moore and Grover Stewart featured among underrated free agents.

The Indianapolis Colts have less than a month before the new league year arrives and the free-agent market officially opens.

While there is still plenty of time to get deals done with their pending free agents, two of them made Pro Football Focus’ list of underrated defensive players set to hit the market.

First on the list was defensive tackle Grover Stewart.

Stewart is somewhat one-dimensional, with just one season of earning a 65.0-plus PFF pass-rush grade in his career. He stands out in run defense, though, finishing 2023 with the fifth-best PFF run-defense grade at the position. He has yet to earn a sub-65.0 run-defense grade in a season.

Stewart is known mostly for his run-stopping abilities. He’s an elite defender in that arena, but he’s also coming along as a pass rusher. Though he’s 30 years old, the prime for defensive tackles is a bit later in their careers compared to other positions.

The Colts got a glimpse of what life is like without Stewart redirecting traffic against the run when he was suspended for six games during the 2023 season. It was abysmal watching the Colts get shredded via the ground attack. The suspension may have helped his stock in terms of getting a new contract.

Moore was the other Colts player featured on the list of underrated defensive players set to become free agents.

Now 30 years old, Moore is coming off a career year in which he earned a 77.4 PFF grade that ranked 18th among cornerbacks. Primarily a slot cornerback, he allowed a catch on 79.4% of the passes into his primary coverage, but for an average of just 9.3 yards, in 2023.

Moore’s bounce-back season has been well documented. He was playing at a near Pro Bowl level as a slot defender for the majority of the campaign. Even though there is promise and upside with the young cornerbacks in Julius Brents and Jaylon Jones, it’s Moore who is the glue guy in the secondary.

We’ll see what happens with both Stewart and Moore as the legal tampering period draws near, but they both would likely have strong markets if they were to hit free agency.

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