INDIANAPOLIS —The Indianapolis Colts have brought back another piece to their secondary.
The team announced today that cornerback Chris Milton has signed his exclusive rights tender, officially keeping him in Indy for the 2018 season.
Milton, a Georgia Tech product, signed with the Colts in May 2016 as an undrafted college free agent, spending most of the season on the team's practice squad. He did play in six games in Indianapolis in 2016, starting one, and recorded six tackles, two passes defensed and four special teams stops.
A key member of depth at cornerback for the Colts in 2017, Milton played in 14 games last season, recording four tackles and one fumble recovery. He also recorded a team-best 334 special teams snaps on the year, and had six special teams stops.
Now officially back with the Colts, Milton looks to continue competing for a spot within a mostly-young group of cornerbacks that includes 2017 rookies Nate Hairston, Quincy Wilson and Kenny Moore II, and second-year corner D.J. White. The team also re-signed veteran free agent cornerback Pierre Desir on March 21.
Milton is the last of four Colts exclusive rights free agents to sign back with the team for 2018. On March 14, the Colts tendered Milton, long snapper Luke Rhodes, tight end Mo Alie-Cox and guard Jeremy Vujnovich.
Exclusive rights free agents are players with two or fewer accrued years of NFL experience whose contracts are expiring. Their original team must tender the player by the league's new year (which was at 4 p.m. ET on March 14), or the player becomes a free agent. If tendered, however, the team has exclusive rights to that player for the upcoming season, and then it's up to the player to sign that tender offer.
