5 CBs Colts could draft to replace Stephon Gilmore

Taking a look at five CB prospects the Colts could draft to replace Stephon Gilmore.

With cornerback Stephon Gilmore headed to Dallas, the Indianapolis Colts need young talent to replace him.

Additionally, with Brandon Facyson returning to Las Vegas and Kenny Moore’s future undetermined, the team is currently fragile at the position.

All eyes turn to the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Colts have nine draft picks and three in the fifth round alone. Unsurprisingly, general manager Chris Ballard has found great value in the later rounds, including cornerback Isaiah Rodgers Sr., who also enters a contract year.

Cornerback now becomes the second-most important position for the franchise.

Here are five cornerback prospects the Colts could draft to replace Gilmore:

6 cornerbacks to watch for the Colts at 2023 NFL combine

Here are six cornerbacks to watch for the Colts at the NFL combine.

The 2023 NFL Combine is well underway, and the Indianapolis Colts have some critical decisions to make.

The status of cornerbacks Kenny Moore II and Brandon Facyson is undecided, leaving the door open for the team to draft a potential replacement for either role.

This year’s cornerbacks class is littered with talent, and the front office staff will have their work cut out for them when evaluating.

Here are six cornerbacks that could catch the eye of the Colts during the combine workouts Friday:

5 moves Colts could make to add $45 million in salary cap space

Here are five moves the Colts could make to create roughly $45 million in salary cap space.

Though much of the focus for the Indianapolis Colts surrounds the incoming rookie quarterback, there are some moves they need to make in order to save some money against the salary cap.

Unlike most offseasons, the Colts aren’t flush with cash. According to Over The Cap, the Colts currently sit with $12.2 million in salary-cap space and $4.7 million projected after rookie contracts. That’s not a whole lot to work with considering the needs they must address.

We shouldn’t expect the Colts to go wild in free agency even if they were to make every move here to free up significant salary cap space. But with a rich contract coming in from a top-four selection in the draft, along with any other free agents, the Colts need to make room.

Not all of these suggestions will come to fruition, but there is a path for the Colts to clear a significant amount of salary-cap space this offseason.

Here are five moves they could make to free up roughly $45 million against the cap:

‘Decent chance’ Colts move on from Kenny Moore II this offseason

Zak Keefer of The Athletic stated there’s a ‘decent chance’ Colts CB Kenny Moore II won’t be with the team in 2023.

The Indianapolis Colts have some big decisions to make in the coming months, and one of them revolves around starting cornerback Kenny Moore II.

In the final year of his current contract, Moore tried conducting a soft holdout during the spring practices in 2022 in hopes of getting a new deal done. However, that plan didn’t work out, and the Colts held firm in their standing against negotiating.

With the 2023 offseason here, Zak Keefer of The Athletic stated there’s a “decent chance” Moore is moved off the roster in one way or another before the new season arrives.

While there would be some changes — for example, there’s a decent chance Kenny Moore II is not back with the Colts in 2023 —Bradley’s foundation and experience would be something the new coach could lean on early in his tenure. With DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Stephon Gilmore and Leonard all under contract, there’s plenty of talent, too.”

Keefer isn’t necessarily saying here that Moore will be moved off the roster without a doubt. But it makes sense that the nickel cornerback would be near the top of the list of trade candidates, especially considering the team’s current standing with the salary cap.

Moore’s contract also is set up nicely for the Colts to move on without penalty. According to Over The Cap, the Colts would save roughly $8.2 million against the cap if they find a trade partner for Moore this offseason.

The easiest path to a potential trade is with the Chicago Bears. That move would likely be involved in a potential trade up to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft—if the Colts felt the need to move up from No. 4.

Moore thrived in Matt Eberflus’ defense as a swiss-army knife, and it would make sense to trade him to a team where the fit has already been known to work.

As of this writing, the Colts haven’t even announced who their new head coach is so a move like this is likely lower on the priority list. However, there seems to be a decent chance Moore is suiting up for a different team in 2023.

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Updated look at Colts’ salary cap space for 2023 offseason

After the league set the 2023 salary cap, here’s what it looks like for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts now know how much salary-cap space they’ll be working with during the 2023 offseason after the league officially announced the cap limit Monday.

Setting the salary cap at $224.8 million for 2023, the league yet again set a record high as the cap continues to grow. The Colts have a lot of moves yet to come in terms of manipulating the salary cap, and they’ll need to make some big moves in the coming months.

With the salary cap set, the Colts are working with $13,081,832 in cap space, according to Over The Cap. That doesn’t include the contracts for the incoming rookie class, nor does it include the expected rollover from 2022, which is estimated at around $6 million.

There are several moves the Colts can make this offseason to free up cap space, including the trade or release of quarterback Matt Ryan. They would eat $17.2 million in dead cap but save $18 million against the cap, which would probably be worth it.

They also could entertain the idea of trading cornerback Kenny Moore II, who would save $7.5 million against the cap without any dead money. Quarterback Nick Foles also is a cut candidate to save $2.1 million.

The Colts, firstly, need to find a new head coach before diving into roster moves. That is expected to come soon. But until then, there will be a lot of speculation as to the types of moves the Colts will make in order to generate a little breathing room with the cap.

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4 potential cap casualties for Colts in 2023

These four Colts could be salary cap casualties this offseason.

The 2023 offseason is the most important in Chris Ballard’s tenure as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts.

Every decision should be made with critical thought and care, including the choices he makes when it comes to the salary cap. The Colts are in solid standing with the salary cap but could afford to create some space.

We also took a look at the biggest salary-cap hits on the roster entering the offseason.

Here are four potential cap casualties for the Colts in 2023:

Colts place CB Kenny Moore II on injured reserve

The Colts placed CB Kenny Moore II on the injured reserve list Wednesday.

The Indianapolis Colts placed cornerback Kenny Moore II on the injured reserve list and signed defensive end Rashod Berry from the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, the team announced Wednesday.

Moore has been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers but failed to log a practice since initially sustaining the injury. With only one game left, the team placed him on the reserve list likely so they could add more depth to the position.

Moore’s 2022 was less than ideal. In 12 games, he failed to record an interception and was credited with just four passes defended, the second-fewest of his career.

According to Pro Football Focus, Moore played 505 of his 859 snaps out of the slot this season. Though his 10.4 yards per reception allowed mark was slightly above his career average, Moore allowed a 121.4 passer rating in coverage. That was by far a career-high and the fourth-highest among NFL cornerbacks with at least 567 snaps played.

There’s still one more year left on Moore’s contract—he conducted a soft holdout this offseason in hopes of more money—but there’s a chance he’s either cut or traded considering he carries no dead cap in 2023, per Spotrac.

We’ll see what happens this offseason as we should expect some big changes, but Moore’s season will end on a down note due to an ankle injury.

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Colts vs. Giants: Inactive players for Week 17

Here are the inactive players for the Week 17 matchup between the Colts and Giants.

The Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1) and New York Giants (8-6-1) released their lists of inactive players ahead of the Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium.

Indianapolis Colts’ inactives:

Name Position Injury
Kylen Granson TE Ankle
Kenny Moore II CB Ankle
Ashton Dulin WR Concussion
Matt Ryan QB
Eric Johnson II DT
Wesley French C
Cameron McGrone LB

Notes

  • CB Kenny Moore II will miss his fourth consecutive game while TE Kylen Granson will miss his second consecutive game
  • Rookie DT Eric Johnson II is a healthy scratch in favor of DT Chris Williams.
  • LB Cameron McGrone, who was signed off the Patriots’ practice squad last week, is a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.

New York Giants’ inactives:

Name Position Injury
Adoree’ Jackson CB Knee
Dane Belton S
Rodarius Williams CB
Jarrad Davis LB
Wyatt Davis G
Jack Anderson G
Lawrence Cager TE

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3 ruled out, 1 questionable in Colts vs. Giants

Here are the players with injury designations for the Week 17 matchup between the Colts and Giants.

The Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1) and New York Giants (8-6-1) released their final injury reports Friday ahead of the Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium.

The Colts ruled out three players on their final injury report while the Giants had one player listed as doubtful and another listed as questionable. The Colts also added defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the injury report but then placed him on the injured reserve list Saturday.

Here are the players with injury designations for the Week 17 matchup:

Colts vs. Giants: Final injury report for Week 17

Here’s the final injury report for the Colts and Giants in Week 17.

The Indianapolis Colts (4-10-1) and New York Giants (8-6-1) released their final injury reports Friday ahead of the Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium.

There were no surprises on the Colts’ injury report even with three players being ruled out.

Here’s a look at the final injury report for the Colts in Week 17:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed.
12/28
Thu.
12/29
Fri.
12/30
Status
WR Ashton Dulin Concussion DNP DNP DNP Out
TE Kylen Granson Ankle DNP DNP DNP Out
S Rodney McLeod Jr. Rest DNP FP FP
CB Kenny Moore II Ankle DNP DNP DNP Out
DE Yannick Ngakoue Throat FP Questionable

Notes

  • CB Kenny Moore II will miss his fourth consecutive game due to the injury he suffered in Week 12. He hasn’t practiced or played since.
  • TE Kylen Granson will miss his second consecutive game and has not practiced in two weeks.
  • DE Yannick Ngakoue was a late addition to the injury report after it was released and is questionable for the matchup.

Here’s a look at the final injury report for the Giants in Week 17:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed.
12/28
Thu.
12/29
Fri.
12/30
Status
DT Dexter Lawrence Rest DNP FP FP
CB Adoree’ Jackson Knee LP LP LP Doubtful
OLB Azeez Ojulari Ankle LP LP LP Questionable
DE Leonard Williams Neck LP LP LP

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