Xavien Howard
Getty
New Indianapolis Colts Xavien Howard
The Indianapolis Colts had a string of bad luck regarding their cornerback position.
Third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Justin Walley, tore his ACL in joint practices before the start of the preseason. 2021 Pro Bowler Kenny Moore suffered a knee injury and will be out for the meantime. Injury-plagued JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones are both currently dealing with hamstring issues, keeping them out of practice.
Indianapolis had to address its cornerback woes and did that by bringing in four-time Pro Bowl CB Xavien Howard. Howard will likely receive first-team reps due to the depleted position.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo spoke to reporters Monday morning and discussed Howard’s addition to the defense.
Lou Anarumo On Xavien Howard
Lou Anarumo
GettyNew Indianapolis Colts Defensive Coordinator
Lou Anarumo has ties to the team’s new cornerback, as he was Howard’s cornerback coach when the Miami Dolphins drafted him back in the 2016 NFL Draft.
“I know [Xavien] from his college days… I was around him in that process, around him his first two years of his career. The one thing about him that always jumped off the tape to me when he was at Baylor… is he could go get the ball,” Anarumo said. “He’s proven that throughout his NFL career that he’s an elite interceptor.”
“We’ll give him some time to get back into football shape because that takes a while. But hoping we can get some of those interceptions going.”
In the two seasons Anarumo was Howard’s defensive back coach, the cornerback logged 4 interceptions and 19 pass deflections.
Through Howard’s NFL career, he registered 29 interceptions and 95 PDs. His performances earned him 4 Pro Bowl nominations, two All-Pro nods and placed him third in the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Joining the Indianapolis Colts, Xavien Howard will be CB2 and teaming up with Charvarius Ward, who signed a three-year, $54 million deal this offseason.
Xavien Howard Playing Again After Missing Last Season
Xavien Howard
GettyCornerback Xavien Howard
Xavien Howard missed the 2024-25 season as he was recovering from the Lisfranc foot injury.
His injury and absence are a concern for many teams, but Anarumo mentions the Cincinnati Bengals worked out Xavien Howard last season, showing he was able to compete.
“We’ve seen him move a little bit and looked good,” the defensive coordinator said. “I just feel good about the athlete that he is. Maybe you could look at it as ‘his legs got a year off to rest.'”
“One thing I know is his ball skills and those things don’t go away with time, and he still has those.”
Xavien Howard appeared in at least 13 games in each of the last 4 seasons played, showing he can be on the field more often than not.
If Howard can get back to football shape, he can be a good addition to an injured Colts secondary.