NFL Trade Rumors
Julian Blackmon is a free agent once again. After five years with the Colts, the veteran safety is unlikely to return and is surprisingly still looking for a home. He tested the free agent market last offseason, expecting a bigger payday that ultimately never materialized, instead returning to Indianapolis on a one-year deal.
This year, however, the Colts appear set to move on. They signed Camryn Bynum from the Vikings to be their new free safety and return Nick Cross at strong safety. Blackmon’s fit next to Cross was always a bit clunky, as both are big hitters specializing in run defense and better-suited to playing close to the line of scrimmage.
Still, Blackmon is a versatile and experienced NFL safety who has a lot he can offer teams. In his five years in the league, he’s steadily improved year over year. His 2023 and 2024 seasons were easily his best, and between them, he totaled 174 tackles, 12 passes defensed and seven interceptions. Most of that production came while playing out of position at free safety next to Cross.
Blackmon had PFF grades of 70.9 and 69.3 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, performing well in run defense and holding his own in coverage. He does have an extensive injury history that may be giving teams pause, and is likely a factor in why the Colts chose to go with Cross instead, but at this point in the offseason, he’s a plug-and-play starter for a team in need of safety help.
Blackmon, 26, was a three-year starter at Utah and earned second-team All-American honors in 2019. The Colts selected him with the No. 85 pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $4,628,849 rookie contract that included a $926,437 signing bonus and played out the final year of that deal. Blackmon re-signed with the Colts on a one-year deal for the 2024 season.
In 2024, Blackmon appeared in 16 games for the Colts and recorded 86 total tackles, one tackle for loss, three interceptions and four pass defenses.
We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list.
Blackmon has been connected to the Panthers quite a bit since free agency started. Carolina is one of the only teams that’s brought him in for a visit, and on paper at least the fit makes sense. The Panthers signed Tre’von Moehrig from the Raiders as their big defensive addition to lock down one of the safety spots, and they return Nick Scott to start across from him.
The issue is Scott was one of the worst safeties in the NFL last year. PFF graded him out at just a 52.6, which ranked 82nd among all safeties. He was a particularly poor run defender, with a 48.1 run defense grade. That could be a problem next to Moehrig, whose natural position is a deep field free safety. Whoever plays next to him will be playing closer to the line of...
