A Cut Corner Is Now Covering One in the Division

The Colts' secondary depth problem was already well-documented heading into 2026. Charvarius Ward played only seven games last season, and the cornerback group behind him logged essentially no meaningful snaps all year. The roster moves in August — workouts, shuffles, a handful of signings — didn't resolve it so much as paper over it. Now comes the additional sting: a cornerback the Colts released has landed with a division rival and will be suiting up against them this season.

That's the particular tax on a team that cuts from a position of weakness. When you release a player from a position you can't adequately fill, you're not just trimming the roster — you're potentially handing a conference opponent a body they can use. Whether this specific player becomes a factor for that team is an open question, and I won't overstate it. But the optics are what they are, and the underlying reality is worse than the optics.

The depth chart at cornerback currently lists Justin Walley, Rob Carter, and Kenneth Harris. None of them have a track record in this system that would inspire confidence heading into a Week 1 matchup with Baltimore. Sauce Gardner is on the active roster, which helps, but the margin for error in the secondary is thin enough that any addition to a divisional opponent's back end registers as a real, if modest, problem.

The Colts spent the offseason reinforcing the offense and largely hoping the defensive back situation would sort itself out. It hasn't. And now one of the pieces they let go is someone else's solution.