Colts: Cowboys bailing on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix proves Indy should stay away
By Mike Luciano
While the Indianapolis Colts need to get their quarterback situation figured out now that Carson Wentz is on the mend, that isn’t the only area of need on this roster. Could someone like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix be in the cards as they try to add depth and quality to their secondary?
Julian Blackmon and Xavier Rhodes will lead a unit that made some strides last year under Matt Eberflus. Even with that improvement, Chris Ballard wouldn’t be doing his job as a GM if he didn’t try to find improvements whenever possible, and Clinton-Dix might be on his way to Indianapolis.
The Colts worked out a collection of veteran players tis week, and Clinton-Dix numbered among them. The vet’s career hasn’t really recovered since the Packers let him go, and he didn’t even play one snap of football during the 2020 season despite an increased need for replacement players due to the pandemic.
Clinton-Dix might have some impressive accomplishments on his resume, but the Colts need to resist the temptation of signing him.
If he wasn’t good enough to crack the lineup for one of the worst defenses in the league last year with the Dallas Cowboys, why should Indy roll the dice on him?
The Colts are working out a group of players including veteran S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 5, 2021
The Colts should pass on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Clinton-Dix, a former first-round pick out of Alabama, does have a Pro Bowl on his resume, but he was at the epicenter of some Packers defenses that were frequently decried as some of the worst in the game. When the Packers replaced him with Adrian Amos in 2019, that position was instantly upgraded.
And that was Clinton-Dix at his peak.
After a half-season in Washington and a so-so campaign with the Chicago Bears alongside Eddie Jackson, Clinton-Dix tried out for his old coach in Mike McCarthy. Armed with a laughable defense that helped cost Dallas a playoff spot, McCarthy still said no to bringing on Clinton-Dix.
Blackmon will once again be one of the game’s best young DBs and someone will step up to fill the strong safety void. Might it be the improving Khari Willis? Perhaps either veteran Sean Davis or a youngster with a phonetically identical name in rookie Shawn Davis?
In terms of points per game, Clinton-Dix’s Packers teams ranked 21st, 26th, and 22nd from 2016 to 2018, and they jumped up to ninth the very first year after he left. There are other factors present in that jump, but letting him go has to be one of the main reasons.
The Colts need to lean on the strength of a secondary full of players that they have drafted and developed rather than trying to plug Clinton-Dix into the lineup. With his career on the decline, Indy needs to hope one of their young defenders steps up instead.
Keeping his resume on file just in case they are once again swamped with injuries in the regular season is a better way to handle this situation.
