With the re-signing of their starting strong safety, the Colts are bringing the band back together on defense. Here’s what it means for this season.
The Colts were one of the most improved defensive teams last year. They went from being near the bottom of the pack in every statistical category to near the middle. They went from being very bad to average. A jump like that is truly significant. The Colts certainly seem to think so.
They think that jump is so significant, that they want to bring everyone back from last year. They have re-signed several defensive free agents to keep the band together. Margus Hunt, Pierre Desir, and most recently Clayton Geathers all have new deals.
What does this mean for 2019? It means that the Colts are confident in the group that they have. They haven’t yet signed any outside free agents on the defensive side of the ball. They seem content with the group that they have right now, though that could change in the draft.
The Colts are still missing one big defensive piece; a pass rusher. That is arguably been their biggest need all offseason. It could be that they think they have that in a healthy Tyquan Lewis and Kemoko Turay. They haven’t really tried to sign anyone, so they must be counting on those guys.
What seems more likely is that they will address that need in the draft. Bringing everyone back signifies that the coaching staff thinks this group has what it takes to get it done and they don’t want to mess with the chemistry too much.
There is still plenty of time to sign free agents, and of course the draft has still yet to happen. But the Colts are clearly very confident with the defense they have already.