The Colts reportedly want cornerback Mike Jenkins. For now, they’ll have to settle for Justin King.
The team has announced that King, a four-year veteran, has joined the team. He entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2008, and he became an unrestricted free agent in March after four seasons in St. Louis.
King, who has appeared in 35 games with 19 starts, will boost a depth chart containing several d-backs who apparently regard those criticizing the secondary as d-bags.
“I kind of get pissed off every time I see an article or someone talking that the Colts’ secondary is this or that,” Jerraud Powers said earlier this week, via Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. "[Critics] aren’t in the building every day seeing how these guys work at their craft or how they conduct themselves.”
Right. But the coaching staff and front office are. And they’ve now added another veteran defensive back.
Coach Chuck Pagano admits that the team would “love to have someone separate from the pack,” eventually. “Once we get to training camp and we get the pads on,” Pagano said, “I think that thing will start to clear itself up.”
The real question is whether “that thing” will be able to keep up with the receivers and tight ends that Colts defense will be covering once the real games start. Despite King’s four NFL seasons, the fact that he was available nearly three months after free agency started isn’t a good sign.