Colts explain their plan at cornerback following Dallis Flowers’ season-ending injury

The Indianapolis Colts entered the 2023 season with an extremely young and thin cornerback room. After losing Stephon Gilmore, Isaiah Rodgers Sr. and Brandon Facyson in the offseason, everyone knew the secondary would be a big question mark for Indy. Fans became really concerned once the season started and the secondary struggled against other teams.

Unfortunately, things have gotten even more challenging for the Colts. In the Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Rams, starting corner Dallis Flowers went down with an injury. It has since been confirmed that he’ll miss the rest of the year with an Achilles injury. That puts Indy in an even tougher spot than it was already in.

The Colts must now find a starter and adequate depth pieces. There are a few external options that Indy could go after, but for now, the team is planning to go with internal options. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley made that clear on Tuesday, telling the media that the plan is currently to rotate second-year corner Darrell Baker Jr. and rookie Jaylon Jones.

Colts will rotate Darrell Baker Jr. and Jaylon Jones at corner

Baker actually started the season as the starting corner opposite of Dallis Flowers. However, after struggling in the first two games of the year, Baker lost his spot to rookie JuJu Brents who got healthy and up to speed. Since that happened, Baker has been a healthy scratch the last two weeks. He’ll now get another opportunity to produce some of the magic that he created in training camp.

Like Baker, Jaylon Jones also had a strong training camp. Drafted in the seventh round, he was the third corner selected by the Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, an impressive camp led to Indy electing to keep him over fifth-round corner Darius Rush. Chris Ballard expressed that he believes Jones will be a really good corner in the league. It’s no longer about the future for Jaylon Jones, it’s about the now.

Jones or Baker will have to step up, or the Colts may have to find a replacement that isn’t already on the team. Indy’s offense looks good with Anthony Richardson, and Jonathan Taylor is being added back into the mix. Additionally, the defensive front is pretty good when everyone is healthy. Indy’s biggest concern is at corner, so someone needs to step up and produce for the team.

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