Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither will have the headset for Sunday Night Football in Week 2, Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday.
Safety Cam Bynum had the green dot in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. Bynum, other players and coaches observed rush on defense when getting set in formation.
"I think it's gonna be better for everyone from a communication standpoint," Steichen said. "It'll free Cam up on the back end, as well as to communicate with (the secondary). We've got a lot of respect for Cam. He knows the defense really well."
Davis-Gaither spent five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he played under current Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. He spent 2025 with the Arizona Cardinals. In Week 1, he accounted for eight total tackles against the Ravens.
Now that a player in the middle of the defense will hold the role for a primetime matchup, the hope is for everyone to have ample time to hear, process and set each formation.
"I think it's definitely going to calm the back end down," Davis-Gaither said. "Calling at the line and running back 15 yards has to be tough, trying to get your reads, keys and stuff like that. It helps everyone when the back end is calm, next level is calm. d-line is calm. Everybody can just play fast and be ready when the ball is snapped."
The Colts surrendered 506 yards of total offense to the Ravens, and the defense was far from thrilled with their performance after the game.
"That's never the standard. That's awful for us as a defense," Bynum said Sunday. "We just got to execute better, get off the field on third down, but also be better on first and second down to create a tough third down."
