2018 Colts Free Agent Decisions: Cornerback Rashaan Melvin

Rashaan Melvin had a breakout season as he became the Colts’ number one cornerback. Will that be enough for Indianapolis’ front office to hand him a huge contract this offseason?

Rashaan Melvin came into the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2013, and he bounced around a couple of practice squads before he started to earn some playing time with the Ravens in 2014. Melvin played sparingly with Baltimore and New England before signing a two-year $1.45 million deal with the Colts in 2016.

He broke into the starting lineup during his first season in Indianapolis, and he played pretty well. Melvin broke up 7 passes with 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery to go along with 52 tackles in 2016.

Melvin established himself as a shutdown cornerback this season. He’s only played in 10 games, but he’s managed to break up 13 passes with 3 interceptions on the year.

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The 28-year-old cornerback is following a similar career path as A.J. Bouye. Bouye was also former undrafted player who had an incredible year in 2016 right before he was set to enter free agency.

Bouye turned that breakout season into a five-year $67.5 million contract with the Jaguars, and he’s helped form one of the best cornerback duos in the league with Jalen Ramsey on the other side of the defense.

Melvin probably doesn’t expect to cash in at quite the same level this offseason, but his stats are very comparable to Bouye’s 2016 season that helped him get paid.

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The Colts have the third-most cap room in the NFL heading into this offseason, so they should have the resources to pay Melvin the big contract that he’s earned over his two years in Indianapolis.

Here are some other free agents who will create some tough decisions this offseason:

Frank Gore

Donte Moncrief

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