When JuJu Brents was placed on the Colts' injured reserve list following the team's season-opening loss to the Houston Texans, Colts head coach Shane Steichen's message to his cornerback was simple: just keep fighting.
The message to the rest of the Colts' cornerbacks was just as clear: next man up.
"In this league, it's next man up," Steichen said Wednesday. "And I've got full faith and confidence in every single person in that room...they've got a great opportunity in front of them."
Eight-year veteran cornerback Kenny Moore II had a similar message for his younger counterparts.
"It speaks true to always being ready, always being prepared," Moore said. "You know, even if you don't think personally that you'll be called up, you don't know how close you will get to being called up. So honestly just being a professional at all times, so whenever things do shake out and you're called on and you have a bigger role, it's not a surprise."
Dallis Flowers intends to make the most of his chance after spending the majority of the 2023 season out with a torn Achilles and being ruled inactive for Week 1 against the Texans.
"I'm going to be ready no matter what the scenario is," Flowers said Wednesday. "The type of player I am, the type of person I am, I'm always going to be ready when the time comes."
Flowers said his Achilles injury – which he sustained last October – is still in the back of his head, but he's getting better "literally day by day" and feels comfortable out on the field. Now, his primary focus is to just go out and play football and work hard every day.
An undrafted free agent signing in 2022, Flowers is entering his third year with the Colts with 17 games (five starts) under his belt. He started all four games he played in last season, totaling 15 tackles (11 solo), one tackle for loss and three passes defensed. In 2022, Flowers recorded eight tackles (six solo), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and six special teams stops across 13 games. He was also the Colts' primary kick returner.
"He played some good time with us last year, and I was bummed out that we lost him to injuries last year," Moore said. "(I'm) just expecting him to know what he's doing, know his job, know his role and just have that communication with everybody else."
Alongside Moore and Flowers in the cornerback room on the active roster are Jaylon Jones, Chris Lammons and Samuel Womack III. Lammons is entering his fifth season in the NFL (second with the Colts) and Jones, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is in his second season. Womack spent his first two years in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers before the Colts claimed him off waivers in August.
"I like to say we have a championship team if we have depth," Moore said. "If we have guys that can just roll in, roll out with no dropoff. So I'm pretty confident with Dallis, and I'm pretty sure he'll be very prepared for the game."
As the veteran of the cornerback room, Moore has become a leader and an example for younger players, like Flowers, to look up to. It's something Moore says it took some time for him to truly understand how to be a leader, but his personality always put him in that sort of role and he's learned to embrace it.
"My motivation throughout my career is just trying to be the epitome of being a Colt, being a professional," Moore said.
His teammates recognize that, and they take advantage of it whenever they can.
"Kenny is a great guy, a great person, a great football player," Flowers said. "Anytime Kenny says something, we just open ears, ready to learn, follow his lead, follow his footsteps and then just keep attacking day by day."
So, as the Colts' cornerbacks prepare to face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday, they'll do so knowing they have a leader they can depend upon in Moore. But he's not the only one; Steichen's belief in them empowers the entire room to play even harder.
"(Shane) is one of the people that I consider – I'm playing hard for him," Moore said. "I like the way he leads the team. So, just as he thinks we can go out there and win it, I have full faith in him as well. It takes a team to go out there and do it, so we'll do our best to uphold the standard."
