The Indianapolis Colts are 3-1 and likely to be 4-1 after playing the bad Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5, but Indy has shown some cracks. The offense is efficient, the defensive line is solid, but the cornerback group? Not great.
When healthy, nickelback Kenny Moore and outside corner Charvarius Ward are good. Both have missed time with injuries, though. The real problem has been the other outside corner position. Xavien Howard was signed in free agency late in the preseason, and he was awful before he decided to retire this week.
Indy needs to find a replacement for Howard, and shouldn't wait long to do it. Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame has a great idea of who it should be, too. His proposal adds a young player, but one familiar with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's scheme.
Proposed Colts-Bengals trade would save the struggling Indianapolis secondary
Verderame proposes that the Colts send a conditional fifth-round 2026 draft pick in return for Cam Taylor-Britt. Taylor-Britt is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and football fans know how stingy the Bengals can be. There is certainly no guarantee that Taylor-Britt gets a decent offer to return.
Instead, the Bengals, knowing their season is likely sunk because of their terrible offensive line and quarterback Joe Burrow missing three months, could look to ship off players in return for draft capital. Taylor-Britt could be one of those guys.
To be sure, the cornerback is not a perfect player. His quarterback rating allowed in 2024 was an awful 118.5, and he was called for 11 penalties. So far in 2025, his QBR allowed is 126.0, so not good. Still, he does offer positional flexibility, and he had seven interceptions in 2023 and 2024 combined.
Based on his career numbers, he is a solid tackler, and his quarterback rating allowed in 2022 was a very good 67.6. He is capable of being quite good. He also spent his first three seasons playing under Anarumo when he was the defensive coordinator for Cincy.
In other words, Cam Taylor-Britt would be an instant fit in the Colts' defense, and he can take the place of the 32-year-old Xavien Howard, who shouldn't have been playing in the NFL anymore.
Through four games, Howard ranked as the 103rd cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which is last in the NFL. This is after he had a solid start to the season in a revenge game against the Miami Dolphins, the team he started his career with.
In the last three games, Howard was targeted 20 times and allowed 16 completions for 195 yards and three touchdowns. The Indianapolis Colts could not risk Howard costing the team games anymore, so his retirement is a gift to Indy.
Cam Taylor-Britt for a fifth-round draft selection would be a no-brainer to replace Howard. The Colts would be a better team for it.