The Indianapolis Colts announced on Tuesday that they placed cornerback JuJu Brents on injured reserve with a knee injury, that is potentially season-ending.
So now the question becomes, who will start at cornerback opposite of Jaylon Jones?
Along with Jones and Kenny Moore, the other three cornerbacks on the 53-man roster are Dallis Flowers, Sam Womack, and Chris Lammons. The decision likely comes down to either Flowers or Womack, with Lammons being a slot only option.
Flowers was initially competing with Jones for playing time during the offseason and into training camp. It was a competition, however, that Jones gained control of quickly and never let go.
Flowers 2023 season was cut short due to an Achilles injury and he is still trying to regain his past form. In the Colts’ preseason opener, Flowers allowed four receptions on six targets for 54 yards and was penalized twice. He did perform better in the final two games.
“I know for him he didn’t play as good as he wanted to,” said Gus Bradley after that first preseason game. “But we kind of anticipated there might be some different looks that he might have to get accustomed to just coming back off this injury. So I think that’s a good start for him. We know where he’s at. He knows where he’s at and the progress he has to make.”
For what it’s worth, Flowers was a healthy scratch in the team’s opener against Houston, with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley saying that was a special teams decision.
Womack, meanwhile, has been with the Colts for just over two weeks after being claimed on waivers following roster cutdowns.
He was going to spend the bulk of his time in the nickel, but he comes to the Colts having boundary experience, which the defense may need to rely on given how thin they are at the cornerback position.
Womack had a strong preseason with the 49ers. As far as the regular season goes, he’s played just 216 defensive snaps over two seasons.
On the practice squad, the Colts have four boundary cornerbacks in David Long, Jaylin Simpson, Ameer Speed, and Kelvin Joseph. But at least for this first game without Brents, one would think it will be either Flowers or Womack.
The Colts are back on the practice field Wednesday, which should perhaps provide us with some insight based upon who the early defensive starters are.
For a draft and develop team like the Colts are under GM Chris Ballard, it’s not all that surprising that he wanted to give Brents and Jones the opportunity to continue developing–and that only comes with time and live reps.
However, the depth of this position group was always in question after an offseason where the only additions made came on Day 3 of the draft. Now, that depth is very much going to be put to the test.