INDIANAPOLIS — Pierre Desir responded to a major challenge last season within the Indianapolis Colts' secondary, and now he's coming back for more.
The team has announced it has re-signed the veteran cornerback, who looks to lead a youth movement at the position into the future.
Desir took full advantage of his opportunities last season with the Colts after being claimed off waivers just before the start of the season. Eventually, out of necessity, he became a spot-starter and fill-in guy at cornerback the first few weeks before grabbing hold of the No. 2 job for good by halfway through the season.
And, prior to suffering a season-ending pectoral injury Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Desir, 27, was putting in a career year; in nine games with six starts, he collected 32 tackles and seven passes defensed, while he also nabbed his first-NFL interception Week 10 against Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In parts of four NFL seasons, Desir has played in 33 games with seven starts with the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers and the Colts, and has collected 81 tackles, 15 passes defensed and that aforementioned interception.
Bringing back Desir addresses a major need for general manager Chris Ballard and the Colts, who saw their No. 1 cornerback from 2017, Rashaan Melvin, sign a free agent deal with the Oakland Raiders in recent days.
Desir provides a veteran presence for a mostly very young group of Colts cornerback set to return in 2018, including 2017 second-round pick Quincy Wilson, 2017 fifth-round pick Nate Hairston, Kenny Moore II, D.J. White and Chris Milton.
