Top realistic CB free agents and trade targets the Colts should target to upgrade from Xavien Howard in their starting lineup
5 players the Colts should consider adding to upgrade from Xavien Howard at CB
The Indianapolis Colts suffered their first loss of the season in Week 4 to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-20. The team still played at a high level, but it shot itself in the foot too many times to overcome. The biggest concern I have about the team following this loss is a problem that has been evident all year long: Xavien Howard is becoming a liability.
Opposing teams have targeted Howard at an insane rate, and their success rate when doing so is off the charts. He has truly been one of the league’s worst starting CBs, and he has become a problem the Colts have to address sooner rather than later. Below, I took a look at the top free agents and trade targets the Colts should consider replacing Howard with.
Top Free Agent CB targets for the Colts
Stephon Gilmore
The Colts and Stephon Gilmore only spent one season together, and it was the disastrous 2022 season, but they saw the future Hall of Famer play at a high level. Due to the team electing to draft a young quarterback and undergo a bit of rebuilding, the Colts elected to trade Gilmore to the Dallas Cowboys, allowing him to play with a contender.
In the last two years with the Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, Gilmore has taken a clear step back, but has still been a productive contributor. In 2023, with the Cowboys, he recorded two interceptions and 13 pass deflections, playing in all 17 games. In 2024, he joined the Vikings and played in 15 games, recording one interception and nine pass deflections.
He is not the same player who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. However, he is undoubtedly an upgrade to Howard and would significantly raise the floor of that second starting outside CB role. He has also spoken well of his time with the Colts since leaving. He played a role in Cam Bynum signing with the Colts this offseason and endorsed the team’s new ownership structure, following Jim Irsay’s passing, making an unprompted online statement.
Asante Samuel Jr.
A second free agent the Colts should consider is former Los Angeles Chargers CB Asante Samuel Jr. He was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and began his career on a promising trajectory. The son of NFL great Asante Samuel had two interceptions in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. He also had double-digit pass deflections in those seasons, recording 11 in 2021 and 2022 and a career high of 13 in 2023.
In 2024, Samuel’s consistent start hit a bump, as he suffered a season-ending injury after just four games. That injury ended his time with the Chargers and has kept him a free agent up to this point. There’s clearly concern around the league that he can’t return to the same level of player he was before the injury. But the Colts have already taken a similar gamble on Howard, and if I were them, I’d much rather gamble on a CB who is still only 25 than a 32-year-old.
Top trade targets at CB for the Colts
Greg Newsome, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns CB Greg Newsome is a top trade target the Colts should consider. The Browns drafted Newsome in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and have developed him into a solid starter. In his first four years, he has appeared in 54 games, missing multiple due to various injuries. During that span, he has recorded three interceptions and 34 pass deflections. At 6-0 and roughly 190 pounds, he has solid size for the position and possesses great long speed.
In 2024, he recorded a career-low five pass deflections and played in his second-fewest games of his career, at 13. He is off to a much better start in 2025 through four games in which he’s looked sticky in coverage. With it being his final year of his rookie contract, it seems like great timing.
The Browns have a long way to go on offense before they can contend in the AFC, so I could see them moving Newsome ahead of the deadline this year, rather than potentially losing him this offseason for nothing in free agency. A trio of Charvarius Ward, Kenny Moore II, and Newsome could be one of the best in the NFL.
Riq Woolen, Seattle Seahawks
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that many around the NFL believe Seattle Seahawks CB Riq Woolen is available via trade. The Seahawks selected Woolen in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he outplayed that position immediately.
As a rookie, he started all 17 games and led the NFL in interceptions with six and had 16 pass deflections. He has also had five interceptions and 25 pass deflections in the last two years. However, near the end of last year and in the first four games of this season, Woolen struggled in coverage, causing him to fall out of favor with the Seahawks fan base.
Woolen has unreal size at 6-4 and has incredible speed for the CB position. He seems like a perfect fit for Lou Anarumo’s defense, and he clearly needs a change of scenery. His trade value appears to be at an all-time low, and the Colts would be wise to take a shot on the former Pro Bowler, who is still only 26. There’s certainly a risk that he doesn’t pan out, but the Colts already know Howard is a liability. Why not take a high upside swing on a player who is much more likely to return to his peak play?
Cam Taylor-Britt, Cincinnati Bengals
My last trade target the Colts should have interest in is a player with whom Colts defensive coordinator Anarumo is familiar.
Cincinnati Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt played each of his first three seasons under Anarumo with the Bengals after they selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. During the last two years, Taylor-Britt came into his own, having all seven of his career interceptions and 27 of his 35 career pass deflections.
Taylor-Britt is on the smaller side for an outside CB, measuring around 5-10, but he knows Anarumo’s system well and has flourished in it when healthy. He is in the final year of his rookie contract, and with the Bengals losing Joe Burrow for potentially the rest of the season, paired with other contracts they have to worry about, he could become available.
Taylor-Britt would slide right into the Colts’ starting lineup due to his knowledge of Anarumo’s scheme, and the Colts most likely wouldn’t have to hand out a massive contract to extend him if a trade is made.