Since taking the job nine years ago, Colts general manager Chris Ballard has typically been quiet in the opening phases of free agency.
Not this year.
Indianapolis agreed to terms on three separate deals, a drastic change from the patient approach it has taken under Ballard’s leadership.
Ballard said he always knew the secondary needed upgrades.
“We’ve got to get better,” Ballard said about Indy’s defensive backs in his end of season press conference. “We’ve got to be able to address and identify the proper avenues to acquire the right players who can move the needle.”
On Monday, the NFL’s first day of legal tampering, the Colts inked former Vikings safety Camryn Bynum to a four-year, $60 million deal and former 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward to a three-year deal worth the same amount.
Bynum certainly is an improvement at safety. A former fourth-round pick out of California in 2021, the 26-year-old checks all the necessary boxes.
He’s durable — hasn’t missed a game in the past three seasons.
He’s versatile — can play either safety spot and some cornerback, making him an excellent fit alongside Nick Cross in Lou Anarumo’s multiple defense.
He’s a strong tackler — 342 career tackles including 134 in 2023.
And, he thrives in coverage — he had a career high three interceptions last season and allowed only 13 completions on 31 targets.
Bynum is a complete and well-rounded player who comes with winning experience as well. Minnesota finished 14-3 in the regular season before a wild card loss to the Rams last season.
Ward comes from a similar winning environment in San Francisco, where he appeared in three NFC championship games and Super Bowl LIV.
Ward, who will be 29 at the start of the 2025 season, went undrafted out of Middle Tennessee in 2018 and had a breakout season in 2023.
He recorded five of his 10 career interceptions that season, along with a career-best 23 passes defended.
The McComb, Mississippi native signs on to be the Colts’ No. 1 starter at cornerback. A secondary who’s most valuable asset was their slot cornerback receives two big boosts in the forms of Bynum and Ward.
Ballard had banked on the youth of his secondary panning out. By adding two veterans to a secondary which lacked experience outside Indianapolis, Ballard has admitted his guess was wrong and that it was time to invest in top-of-the-market starters.
New defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo gains valuable and versatile talents to work with as he begins to install his defensive scheme, which requires positional flexibility on the back end.
The first two signings were big splurges on outside guys. For No. 3 of the day, he stuck to his roots, agreeing to terms with wide receiver Ashton Dulin on a two-year, $8.5 million contract.
Dulin has always sat toward the bottom of Indy’s wide receiver depth chart, but has made a name for himself with his contributions on special teams.
He’s consistently been one of their leaders in special teams tackles, including finishing third in the NFL in 2021 with 15.
Since joining as an undrafted free agent out of Malone in 2019, the 27-year-old has become one of the Colts’ most important players and receives the pay day he’s earned.
Clearly, Monday was atypical of Ballard, whose philosophy in the past has been to allow the market to die down and try to capitalize on more sensible, good-value agreements.
With Ballard’s wire running thin after another disappointing season in which the Colts missed the playoffs, the shakeup indicates an attempt to shake his stubbornness which has kept Indianapolis in a cycle of underachievement.
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