Colts safety Malik Hooker addressed the team declining his fifth-year option.
The Indianapolis Colts really shocked fans earlier this offseason when it was confirmed they wouldn’t exercise the fifth-year option on safety Malik Hooker’s rookie contract.
The No. 15 overall pick back in 2017 had a team option for $6.7 million that would have added an extra year ontoo his rookie deal. Now, however, he will pocket a $2.18 million salary before hitting free agency at the end of the 2020 season.
Hooker addressed the media about the Colts’ surprising decision for the first time since the news broke a few months ago, and fans in Indianapolis will love hearing that he’s using this situation as motivation to prove he deserves another contract.
Malik Hooker is still confident. He'd give himself a B-plus last season, even if some might disagree.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) August 19, 2020
But the Colts' decision to decline his fifth-year option was motivation, to be sure, and Hooker knows he needs to finally put it all together https://t.co/TQBA1s5Md9
“(It’s a) I just have to go out there and prove myself type of thing. That’s how I feel like it is,” Hooker told reporters. “For me it’s more so controlling what I can control. All I can do is look forward to the future and go out and have a good year.”
Hooker later added that his lack of consistency is likely what prompted the Colts to decline his team option, and we tend to agree. The 24-year-old defensive back burst onto the scene as a rookie before a torn ACL ended his season.
Since then, his performance has been extremely unpredictable. In some games, Hooker would show flashes that prove why fans believe he’s one of the best ball hawks the NFL has to offer. In other contests, however, we would see the Ohio State product blow coverage assignments and get too aggressive while tracking opposing wide receivers.
#Colts safety Malik Hooker says the fact he didn’t get his fifth-year option picked up earlier this year is a source of motivation.
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) August 19, 2020
"For me it’s more so controlling what I can control. … All I can do is look forward to the future and go out and have a good year."
Indianapolis refusing to exercise Hooker’s fifth-year option doesn’t mean the franchise has given up on him. The former Buckeye is still one of the most promising young players at the safety position. If he can get through the 2020 campaign without injury while showing improvements in the consistency department, the Colts might just be persuaded to extend him.
Hooker knows what’s at stake this year and something tell us that a big season is ahead for him.