The Indianapolis Colts took a chance on veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes during the 2020 season, and it played out beautifully as he enjoyed a bounce-back season.
The best boundary cornerback for the Colts is now a free agent after his one-year deal expires and it appears Indy may be letting him test free agency when the new league year arrives.
General manager Chris Ballard noted during his year-end that Rhodes a great year but that they are going to wait and see what the market tells them in March.
Ballard on CBS: "Xavier had a heck of a year. Really bought in to everything we were doing. I think we'll wait and see how it works it out in free agency. … As for Rock, he had his good moments and his bad moments, like a lot of second-year corners."
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) January 14, 2021
This isn’t all that much of a surprise given how Ballard operates. Overpaying isn’t really his style and he’d much rather see what other teams are willing to pay the veteran cornerback for his services after a bounce-back year.
Even with the cornerback position being one of major need, Ballard and his team will go through the process to find a value for Rhodes. If the market demand is higher than what they have on him, then he will walk and sign a nice contract with another team.
But if the market isn’t as strong as Rhodes may have hoped, the Colts can still bring him back on a short deal.
Regardless, the cornerback position is going to be a big need this offseason and it appears the chances of Rhodes returning are up in the air if he’s allowed to test to market in March.
