Colts-Tony Jefferson marriage seems increasingly likely
By Jerry Trotta
The Colts are reportedly interested in signing free agent safety Tony Jefferson.
Fans in Indianapolis are demanding Colts GM Chris Ballard make a big splash for a wide receiver ahead of the Nov. 3 trade deadline, but his intentions reportedly lie on the defensive side of the ball.
Per Zak Keefer of The Athletic, Indy is continuing to monitor free agent safety Tony Jefferson, who was brought in for a visit a few weeks ago, but unsurprisingly left without a deal, as the Colts were likely just checking to see how his injury rehab is progressing.
Jefferson suffered a torn ACL just five weeks into the 2019 campaign and remained unsigned throughout the offseason while working himself back to full strength. It’s unclear when the seven-year veteran will be cleared to return, but this is definitely a situation to monitor over the next few weeks, because the Colts are seriously interested in getting a deal done.
One player to keep an eye on for the Colts in the coming weeks, per league sources: Veteran safety Tony Jefferson, who's a free agent after spending the last three years in Baltimore. Nothing finalized, but Colts keeping close eye on Jefferson, who tore his ACL last October.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) October 23, 2020
The emergence of rookie Julian Blackmon, who’s been graded by Pro Football Focus as one of the top performing safeties in the league, has helped fans forget about the devastating injury starter Malik Hooker suffered back in Week 2 when he was lost for the season with a torn Achilles.
However, the Colts could certainly use more depth at the position, and Jefferson, a veteran with close to 100 games played over the course of his career, would provide just that.
Report: Colts 'keeping close eye' on S Tony Jefferson https://t.co/ApLDK0p464
— TheColtsWire (@TheColtsWire) October 23, 2020
For his career, Jefferson has racked up 451 tackles, 22 passes defended, 8.5 sacks, 19 QB hits, four interceptions and eight forced fumbles. The Oklahoma product’s prowess in coverage took a big step back last season, but that was only a five-game sample size, and he’s just one year removed from earning an elite 72.4 grade from PFF in 2018.
While Jefferson might not rank among some of the better safeties in the NFL, he would easily go down as a low-risk and potentially high-reward signing for the Colts, a team with a defense that has been getting shredded over the last two weeks.
