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Do Colts already have solution to their issues in middle of defense on the roster?
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- Do Colts already have solution to their issues in middle of defense on the roster?
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts liked Hunter Wohler .
Liked him a lot. Wohler was going to play a significant role for a seventh-round rookie, ticketed for a core position on special teams and a targeted role defensively.
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But Wohler knows he'll have to prove himself all over again next season. Wohler suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot early in the team's preseason game against Green Bay , ending his rookie season before it began.
"I feel like I put myself in a decent spot for next year, but it's not about what you did yesterday or in camp," Wohler said. "I haven't proven anything on the field yet. Come OTAs, come camp, I'm going to have to prove myself all over again."
Wohler could be in position to be a key competitor for the defense again next season.
Starting strong safety Nick Cross is a free agent. If Cross gets big money on the open market, a Colts team that already has a lot of money committed to the secondary (cornerback Sauce Gardner , free safety Camryn Bynum , cornerback Charvarius Ward ) may decide to let him leave.
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A Cross departure would leave a hole at strong safety, and depending on how Indianapolis decides to fill that spot, Wohler could be in a battle for a starting job next season.
"Every time we kept asking him to do something, he'd do it at a high level," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. "Whether it was on special teams, where the impact he would've made (would've been big), at safety, being able to play dime."
If he'd been healthy, he might have already made his case to take over the starting strong safety role.
"Frustrating, obviously, because you put in all this time to get to this level and you kind of get a little bit of a gut punch," Wohler said. "But everything's on God's timing. It's just trusting that, trusting Him and His plan. See what happens, and know when the time comes that it'll be perfect time."
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First, Wohler has to get healthy.
A Lisfranc injury is a difficult rehabilitation. Wohler could be seen wearing a boot deep into the regular season, and the typical recovery can last as long as a year.
Because Wohler suffered the injury midway through the preseason, he'll likely have a chance to play in training camp, although the Wisconsin product did not want to put a timetable on it.
"I feel really good right now," Wohler said. "I really like where I'm at."
No matter what happens with Cross at strong safety, Indianapolis could use Wohler's services in the middle of a defense that was sliced and diced by tight ends in 2025, unable to stop short and intermediate routes over the middle of the field.
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Indianapolis gave up 102 catches (26th in the NFL) and 1,180 yards (31st) to tight ends, leaving the defense's coverage with an area to target even in the few games when the Colts had their best cornerbacks available.
Wohler can help. Not only as a safety, but also by giving defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo a player who can take a linebacker off the field in obvious passing situations. Veteran middle linebacker Zaire Franklin allowed 70.3% of passes to be completed and a quarterback rating of 103.1 as the nearest defender in coverage, but he also played 95.9% of the snaps.
Anarumo designed a package for wide receiver Ashton Dulin to play linebacker in order to have a faster player available to spy Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray , rather than leave a linebacker in that role.
Wohler was likely going to play linebacker in those situations if he hadn't gotten injured.
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"I think in dime situations he could," Ballard said. "I think Lou can do a lot of things with Hunter."
From the sounds of it, the Colts like what they saw from Wohler.
He's not about to let it make him feel safe. Wohler knows where he was drafted, knows there will always be someone new to beat out for a job.
"The minute you stop playing with a chip is the minute you fall behind," Wohler said. "There'll be a little extra juice coming into this year."
The Colts defense could use a little extra juice in the middle.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hunter Wohler could help solve Colts issues in middle of defense
