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INDIANAPOLIS – Pierre Desir openly admits how life in Indianapolis has totally changed the trajectory of his NFL career.

Before Chris Ballard successfully claimed Desir off waivers the week prior to the 2017 season, Desir had played in just 24 games in his first 3 NFL seasons.

The 2014 fourth-round pick of the Browns had made only 7 starts in that time, and didn’t dress for half of his games from ’14-16.

But everything changed when the corner needy Colts brought him in.

Since, Desir has made 18 starts in two seasons with the Colts.

Desir just played in all 16 games this past season, after playing double-digit games in only one of his first four NFL seasons.

“I think I resurrected my career in Indy to be honest with you,” Desir said at the end of the 2018 season.

After the Colts continually shuffled at corner throughout the preseason, Desir actually began this past season as a guy only used in nickel packages.

The Colts finally turned to Desir as a full-time starter in October.

In doing so, the Colts received very solid play from the 6-1 corner, including totally stifling DeAndre Hopkins in late-season wins over the Texans.

Desir, 28, now enters free agency for a second straight offseason deserving of more than just the one-year deal that he received from the Colts in 2018.

While the Colts still have young corners with possible intrigue (Quincy Wilson, Nate Hairston and even Jalen Collins), the dependability of a Desir cannot be taken for granted after how he performed last season.

Chris Ballard mentioned last month that even though this new defensive system uses more zone looks, having some corners known for their man-to-man principles are a nice luxury when it’s time to evolve as a defense. That’s something Desir has shown he can do.

Bringing Desir back would keep a quality starter in Indy, while also giving Ballard and his staff more of a sure thing as they try to see what exactly they have in those younger corners.

 

The Colts entered the offseason with 15 unrestricted free agents.

Adam Vinatieri: The team officially re-signed Vinatieri to a one-year deal on January 28th

Mark Glowinski: The team officially re-signed Glowinski to a three-year deal on January 29th

 

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