Colts cornerback Xavien Howard said that his play in last Sunday’s loss to the Rams was not up to his ability and the numbers back up the feeling that his performance was lacking.
According to Next Gen Stats, Howard gave up seven completions in 10 attempts when he was the closest defender and those completions went for 112 yards and a touchdown. Plenty of corners struggle when tasked with facing Rams wideout Puka Nacua, but Howard’s issues have been a running theme this season and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was asked about them on Tuesday.
Anarumo said “we’ve all got to do a better job” and that “rust or no rust” Howard, who did not play in 2024, is part of that group. He also said that the team will continually look at how players are performing when deciding who is going to be on the field from one week to the next.
“We’ll evaluate everybody, every game,” Anarumo said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “X is a player on the team, so he’s certainly going to get evaluated. . . . Not only X, but everybody will always be evaluated each week, based on performance. We’ll always take a look at all those things and move forward accordingly.”
The Colts would not have signed Howard in August if they were content with their cornerback group and Kenny Moore’s calf injury has depleted the ranks even more, so the veteran will likely get more chances to find his previous form before the Colts fully turn in other directions.
