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Colts Made One of the Best Free-Agent Moves of the Offseason

The Indianapolis Colts are being applauded for their signing of free-agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore last offseason.
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One of the biggest splashes that the Indianapolis Colts made in the 2022 offseason was signing four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a two-year contract worth $20 million.

However, Gilmore wouldn’t get to be a part of much, as the lousy Colts offense would muster only 17.0 points per contest, pitiful enough for 31st in the NFL and would squeak out just four wins. The Colts' offense put a lot of pressure on the defense to perform, and perform Gilmore did.

This is why he lands on Pro Football Focus’ own Brad Spielberger’s list of the “Five Best Free Agent Signings of the 2022 Offseason.”

CB STEPHON GILMORE, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Contract: Two years, $20 million ($14 million total guaranteed)
2022 wins-above-replacement: 0.495 (6th)

The Colts fell well short of expectations in 2022, but that was certainly not due to Gilmore's performance. He couldn’t have foreseen the Colts offense ranking dead last in expected points added per play on the year when signing the dotted line on his new deal, but he had a lot to do with a Colts defense that ranked 14th in expected points allowed per play on the year.

Gilmore played a career-high 1,064 snaps at 32 years old and earned his fourth 80.0-plus coverage grade over his last five healthy seasons. He still thrived while continuing to take on tougher assignments, logging the 12th-most snaps in press coverage and earning a 77.6 grade on press coverage snaps, which ranked ninth among all cornerbacks. Despite his advanced age and some recent injuries, Gilmore remains one of the league’s top lockdown cornerbacks. 

Speaking of PFF, let’s discuss Gilmore’s grades for the Colts. As far as overall coverage grade, he was third behind safety Rodney McLeod Jr. (85.3) and Isaiah Rodgers Sr. (81.5) at 81.1. Keep in mind, Gilmore was often covering, one-on-one, the best receivers from each team. Whereas Rodgers played only 434 snaps to Gilmore's 1,064 and McLeod is a safety, often covering areas of the field rather than an individual playmaker.

Gilmore would also rank fourth on the team in overall defensive grade at 79.1 behind DeForest Buckner (82.3), Rodgers (82.1), and McLeod (80.1).

For a cornerback that is 11 years into his career at age 32, these are great grades. Pair those with his 11 passes defended (team-best) and 53 solo tackles (fourth-best) and you have a stellar signing that will go into the 2023 season.

Gilmore is a stud, there’s no doubt about that. The biggest question will be “how does he deal with his age?” He will be 33 in September, which for cornerbacks can be an Achille's Heel, of sorts. But, this is what analysts were concerned about last year and all that Gilmore did was outperform his expectations and predictions while showing there is plenty left in the tank.

Will he keep doing this in 2023? We’ll see come September. 


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