The Colts move quickly to replace a key player who left the team in free agency with a new signing
After a year in which the Indianapolis Colts kept nearly all of their in-house free agents in the building, they've already seen several find new homes in the NFL. One of those is former Colts linebacker and special teams ace Grant Stuard, who signed with the Detroit Lions. He was a solid player for the team […]
After a year in which the Indianapolis Colts kept nearly all of their in-house free agents in the building, they've already seen several find new homes in the NFL.
One of those is former Colts linebacker and special teams ace Grant Stuard, who signed with the Detroit Lions. He was a solid player for the team the past three years and became one of their most trusted special teams players. His departure is a larger loss than some may realize, but the Colts have quickly found a potential replacement.
Colts sign special teamer Corey Ballentine
The New York Giants drafted Corey Ballentine in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Since then, he's jumped around the league a bit, playing in the regular season for four teams in six seasons. His longest stint in one place, though, came with the Green Bay Packers, with whom he spent the last three years. He appeared in 37 games with the team, which is over half of his total NFL games (69).
As a corner, he's logged 11 starts in his career, seven of which came with the Packers. All but one of those came during his career season in 2023, where he started six of the 14 games he appeared in, and he recorded the only interception of his career along with a career-high seven pass deflections. While he will enter training camp to compete for a spot at corner, he is most likely being brought in due to him being a key special teamer for the Packers over the past three seasons. He only had one season in Green Bay, where he logged more than 10% of the defensive snaps but surpassed 50% of special teams snaps in two of his three years there. And with Stuard signing with the Lions, the Colts have a solid chunk of special teams snaps up for grabs.
Thoughts on Ballentine from Packers beat writer
To offer more insight on Ballentine, I spoke with A to Z Sports' Packers beat writer Wendell Ferreira. He had some very helpful information on a player he followed closely over the past three seasons.
"Corey Ballentine is an experienced cornerback and has been in the NFL since 2019. A former sixth-round pick, he has played for the New York Giants, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Arizona Cardinals. The defensive back had first signed with the Packers in 2022 and then agreed to two short-term deals with Green Bay in each of the past offseasons. Last year, he played only 6.98% of the defensive snaps. However, he was an important special teamer, on the field for 44.12% of the snaps.
Ballentine had a better year in 2023 when he played a significant number of snaps due to injuries in the Packers' secondary and allowed a 79.4 passer rating when targeted. Last season, that number went up to 112.5. On defense, Ballentine has alignment versatility, even though he's primarily a boundary cornerback. He's played 591 career snaps outside, 338 snaps in the slot, and 48 in the box.
For the Packers, Ballentine's departure makes the cornerback need even more pronounced. The team also lost Eric Stokes in free agency to the Las Vegas Raiders, and Jaire Alexander is expected to be traded or released over the next few weeks. The only cornerbacks on the roster with meaningful experience are Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and recently signed Nate Hobbs. The other options are Kamal Hadden, Kalen King, Kaleb Hayes, and Isaiah Dunn."
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The Colts signed a former third-round pick who is coming off an incredible showing in the 2024 NFL playoffs
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