What the Stephon Gilmore Trade Means for the Colts

What's next for the Indianapolis Colts after trading away top cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Dallas Cowboys?

Things will change for the defensive backs room for the Indianapolis Colts after their number one player in the secondary was traded to the Dallas Cowboys.

The Colts traded off veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore to Dallas this week, receiving a 2023 fifth-round compensatory draft pick in return.

Gilmore had a fantastic 2022 season. Now, he’ll carry that momentum into AT&T Stadium on Sundays. With Gilmore now a Cowboy, let’s briefly examine a few subjects and how they will affect Indianapolis.

The Colts Will Save Money

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Look, the writing was on the wall that people were heading out of the Colts’ locker room. Mostly the writing came from the horrific 4-12-1 campaign that Indianapolis already wants to forget. Gilmore, however, didn’t listen to the mediocrity. He was Pro Bowl-worthy, putting together 11 passes defended, 66 tackles, and 2 interceptions. Numbers don’t do justice to how often he locked up the best.

A big reason he’s on his way to Arlington is because of the over $9 million the Colts are saving by dealing him off, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. This frees up valuable space for Indianapolis. A team that could be in the midst of a rebuild of sorts.

Defense Backs are Thin

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While the aforementioned freeing up of cap space is a positive move, it puts the Colts in an interesting position. Now with Gilmore gone, their cornerback room is lacking depth. Here is a brief list of the depth chart for corners:

• Kenny Moore II
• Isaiah Rodgers Sr.
• Kevin Toliver
• Dallis Flowers
• Darell Baker Jr.
• David Vereen

There are only six players that are listed in position. Put into play the chance Moore goes elsewhere, and it puts Rodgers in the picture of the number one. Rodgers lacked the snaps last season to show his full arsenal of skills. Many believed he should have had the starting sport over now Las Vegas Raider Brandon Facyson.

However, even with Rodgers having great talent and potential, he may not be ready to be the lead cornerback yet. It must be mentioned that he could be seeing a starting role and far more of a snap count.

Flowers also showed his prowess as a punt/kick returner. When it came to coverage as a corner, he struggled. He is still raw and will get an entire offseason to work on improvements.

Toliver was a recent signing and could be in sets. But the rest of the list is inexperienced and likely won’t play much, if at all. Look for Chris Ballard to build depth.

This leads to the final point.

Colts Can Rebuild the CB Depth in FA/Draft

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Indianapolis has starters in Rodgers and Moore (if the latter remains with the Colts). This isn’t enough in today’s NFL, so the Colts must fill the gap left behind by Gilmore. There are several cornerbacks in the draft that could catch Ballard’s eye.

Names like Georgia’s Kelee Ringo and Kansas State’s Julius Brents have the Ballard mold of big, athletic, and physical. There’s a shot they both could be in Colts uniforms.

Whether or not one, both, or neither ends up in Indy doesn’t matter. The Colts are drafting a cornerback or two.

Along with those rookie cornerbacks, they could also sign a player in free agency. With names like Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Sean Murphy-Bunting and veteran Baltimore Ravens defensive back, Marcus Peters there are options to get a guy who can add leadership and high-caliber defense for 2023.

The Colts’ front office understands fully that they need to act for their defensive secondary to have a shot at stopping offenses in the league. With the aforementioned names like Rodgers and Flowers, there is a bonafide starter and a player with a potentially high upside.

Despite that, they can’t handle an entire secondary right now without some help. Ballard should maximize their talent by drafting and signing strong fits for the pass defense.

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