The Indianapolis Colts announced on Thursday that the team has released longtime cornerback Vontae Davis in a bit of a surprising roster move.
Davis had been with the Colts since 2012 and his elite performances for the franchise secured Pro Bowl visits in 2014 and 2015. His release comes a day after reports Davis was going to have season-ending surgery on a groin injury and amid a worsening relationship with Colts coach Chuck Pagano. Davis did not take to the news very well, and he’s alleged that he was told by Colts defensive coordinator Ted Monachino and defensive backs coach Greg Williams—not even Pagano himself.
The 29-year-old was benched by Pagano for last Sunday's clash with the Houston Texans, Pagano stating that it had been a non-injury-related "coaching decision."
However, the demotion clearly upset Davis, who was scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season.
In the last year of his Colts contract, Davis told reporters, “Change is good,” regarding his free agent status in 2018 on Wednesday, and that probably isn’t something that sat well with general manager Chris Ballard as he wants players in the locker room who want to be in Indianapolis and is trying to build a winning culture.
Things probably hit the tipping point when late Wednesday night, the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder reported that Davis needed season-ending groin surgery.
While the Colts could’ve presumably just placed Davis on season-ending injured reserve, there seems to be some dispute on whether the team’s medical actually thinks the veteran cornerback is injured, as he hasn’t been placed on their injury report in recent weeks and was initially cleared.
On the 2017 season, Davis had 21 tackles and 2 passes defensed in 5 starts. However, that doesn’t paint the entire picture of his struggles, as per Pro Football Focus , Davis had just a +45.2 grade overall among cornerbacks, which ranks 94th among 115 qualifying players at his position.
