The Indianapolis Colts already thin cornerback room will be put to the test even further this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with head coach Shane Steichen mentioning after Friday’s practice that Kenny Moore would be out.
Moore suffered a hip injury late in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears and did not practice at all during the week.
The Colts have already been without JuJu Brents, who was placed on injured reserve after the team’s Week 1 loss to Houston. Now, without Moore, the cornerback room consists of Jaylon Jones, Sam Womack, Dallis Flowers, and Chris Lammons.
With Moore on the field, we’ve seen Womack and Flowers rotating at the boundary position opposite of Jones. So one option for Indianapolis is to continue doing that with Lammons playing in the slot.
Another route the Colts could go is starting Womack at the nickel, where he does have experience, then leaving Flowers to take all of the boundary cornerback snaps.
This week the Colts are facing a run-heavy Steelers offense that ranks second in rush attempts per game and 12th in rushing yards per game.
Through the air, however, Justin Fields has been an efficient passer, completing 73 percent of his throws at 6.9 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and one interception.
His top targets have been George Pickens, Calvin Austin, who lines up primarily in the slot, and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
The cornerback position was a big unknown entering the offseason for the Colts, but GM Chris Ballard chose to largely rely heavily on the internal development of players that were already on the roster. That strategy is now being put to the test right away this season.
