Kenny Moore II requested a trade. The Indianapolis Colts said no. Then they cut him.
That is the short version of how the 2021 Pro Bowl cornerback ended up as a free agent on Saturday. Moore is now on the open market, and multiple teams are going to be calling within hours. He is 30 years old, he is healthy, and he has been one of the more underrated slot corners in the NFL for the better part of a decade.
The Colts’ decision to release him is the strange part of this story. Moore was due to make $9 million on his current contract, which is a reasonable number for a starter at his position. The team could have either traded him for whatever they could get or kept him to play out the season. Instead, they cut him and got nothing back.
This is what happens when the relationship between a player and a team breaks down completely. Moore had been with the Colts since 2017. He worked his way up from undrafted free agent to one of the franchise’s most consistent defensive contributors. But the Colts brought in a younger group of corners this offseason, and Moore’s role was going to shrink.
He asked for a trade so he could play meaningful snaps somewhere else. The Colts could have accommodated him, but they could not find a deal they liked. So Moore made it clear he was not going to take a reduced role quietly, and the front office decided to cut bait rather than deal with a locker room problem.
The market for Moore is going to be busy. The Eagles have been looking for slot corner help. The Cowboys have an obvious need. The Lions have been searching for veteran leadership in their secondary. The Chiefs always need depth. The 49ers could plug him in immediately as a starter.
The slot corner position is one of the most valuable in modern NFL defense. The position requires a specific skill set including tight zone coverage, ability to blitz from the slot, and quickness to match modern receivers. Moore has all of that. He is also one of the better tackling corners in the league, which is an underrated piece of the position.
His best season was 2018, when he had three interceptions and made the Pro Bowl. He has been a consistent player since then, averaging close to two interceptions per season and rarely missing games due to injury. That kind of durability is the reason teams pay slot corners big money.
The contract he gets in his next deal is going to be the interesting piece. Moore is no longer in his prime, but he has shown that his game travels. He could realistically command a two-year deal in the $15 million range, with a chance to push higher if multiple teams enter a bidding war.
The Eagles are the most likely landing spot. Philadelphia has been one of the most active teams in the league at building defensive depth, and Howie Roseman has a history of moving fast on quality free agents. Moore fits the kind of veteran addition the Eagles like to make.
The Colts piece of this is the bigger story. Indianapolis has been making a series of decisions over the past two years that suggest the front office is in a transition. The team has shed several veterans who were contributing pieces, and the roster is getting younger but not clearly better. Chris Ballard has built one of the most patient organizations in the league, and patience can sometimes look like indecision.
Anthony Richardson is still trying to develop into the franchise quarterback the Colts drafted him to be. The team needs to surround him with talent, not strip the roster down to bare bones. Releasing Moore for nothing makes the secondary worse and saves a relatively small amount of cap space.
For Moore, this is the kind of move that ends up working out. He gets to pick his next team. He gets paid. He probably gets to play meaningful playoff football for the first time in years. The Colts gave him his career, but they also gave him his exit.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
