With top cornerback Vontae Davis out until at least October, the Indianapolis Colts find themselves in an unattainable situation.
Why Indy signed Antonio Cromartie: CB Vontae Davis has ligament damage in ankle, expected to miss at least first month of season, per source
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 23, 2016
Losing your best defensive back to start the season is one thing. Not having a single capable player behind him on the depth chart is a completely different thing.
Upon learning of Davis’ ankle injury, the Colts acted quickly by signing veteran corner Antonio Cromartie. This just goes to show us how desperate the team is heading into the regular season.
After all, Pro Football Focus graded Cromartie out as the 97th-best cover corner in the NFL last season. The 32-year-old veteran simply isn’t what he used to be.
He’s now going to be tasked with likely taking on a starting role until Davis returns from an ankle injury. It’s also an injury that could drag on throughout the entire season.
This is some rather alarming news for a Colts team that boasts one of the most-inept pass-rush units in the entire NFL. Last season saw their defense rack up a grand total of 35 sacks with Robert Mathis and Kendall Langford leading with seven each.
Unfortunately for the Colts, Langford is coming off knee surgery and might be limited to start the season. Meanwhile, the now 35-year-old Mathis acted as nothing more than a situational pass rusher last season.
Without a pass rush and missing you’re only Pro Bowl caliber corner, your defense is going to be up against it in today’s NFL. That’s only magnified when you look at the teams Indy is going up against in the first month of the season.
With Vontae Davis sidelined, Colts first four games could be their undoing pic.twitter.com/aIRXTWQT5Y
— Sportsnaut (@Sportsnaut) August 23, 2016
The expectation heading into this season was that Indy would retake its rightful place atop the AFC South once again. Here’s a team that dealt with a multitude of injuries last season. That’s the major reason it was left out of the playoffs altogether. After all, Josh Freeman (yes, that Josh Freeman) started Week 17 for the Colts.
With all hands on deck, it seemed that Indianapolis would rebound big time this season — outlasting improved competition in the AFC South.
That no longer seems to be the case.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a strong offseason, adding players at all levels of a previously downtrodden defense. The Tennessee Titans have given Marcus Mariota a reliable running game entering his second season in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans have a completely revamped backfield, which has to be considered more talented than the one they threw out there en route to winning the division last season.
The margin for error in Indy simply isn’t there this season. Having to rely on the likes Patrick Robinson, Jalil Brown, Darius Butler and Cromartie to hold down the fort at corner isn’t a good thing. Having to do so without much of a pass rush makes this situation even more dire for the team.
It’s now up to Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston to make the Colts pay. Should that happen, the entire AFC South could be up for grabs this season.