PHOENIX – While several core pieces of Lou Anarumo's Colts defense will return in 2026, general manager Chris Ballard this offseason has been tasked with replacing over 5,000 snaps on that side of the ball.
Gone are two of the Colts' three defensive players to play over 1,000 snaps in linebacker Zaire Franklin (1,112, traded to the Green Bay Packers) and safety Nick Cross (1,111, signed with the Washington Commanders). No Colts player was on the field for more defensive snaps than Franklin, with Cross one snap behind him. Now-Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Kwity Paye's 721 defensive snaps were sixth-highest in 2025, too.
And several other starters or rotational guys either remain unsigned (linebacker Germaine Pratt, defensive end Tyquan Lewis) or signed with other teams (defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, defensive end Samson Ebukam and safety Rodney Thomas II, among others).
Those departures, though, have come with several additions: Defensive ends Arden Key and Michael Clemons, defensive tackles Derrick Nnadi, Jerry Tillery and Colby Wooden, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and safeties Jonathan Owens and Juanyeh Thomas all joined the Colts in March.
Two under-the-radar quasi-additions, too, are cornerback Justin Walley and safety Hunter Wohler. Both 2025 draft picks were in the midst of promising training camps before sustaining season-ending injuries in August.
And, too: Cornerback Sauce Gardner only played 196 snaps after being acquired from the New York Jets last November.
So the Colts' defense will have plenty of familiar faces – like defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, cornerback Kenny Moore II and safety Cam Bynum, among others – it'll have a different feel in 2026.
With that in mind, here's what we heard on Monday from general manager Chris Ballard about the state of the Colts' defense, sorted by position group: