Indianapolis Colts: Vontae Davis cut continues Chris Ballard’s plan

The drama between Vontae Davis and the Indianapolis Colts is over, for now.

The Indianapolis Colts waived 29-year old cornerback Vontae Davis on Thursday after he missed last Sunday’s game against Houston due to an undisclosed injury and disagreement with head coach Chuck Pagano.

It was revealed Wednesday night that Davis would require groin surgery that would be season-ending, and Indianapolis cut the cornerback the day after. This ends a roughly two-week saga of drama between the former Pro Bowler and the Colts.

Davis had been deactivated for last Sunday’s Houston game due to performance issues according to Pagano. Davis was public about his disapproval of Pagano’s handling of the situation and making the decision to not play him while hurt.

Davis said this, reported by the Indianapolis Star‘s Stephen Holder:

"“I’ve been here six years. We’ve had similar situations where I played hurt. These things happen. And I never got confronted and (no one) said, ‘Your play has slipped.’ Nothing. I was playing at a level that was acceptable. But now, my play slips and this? They should have come to me way earlier and said, ‘Vontae, you’re not yourself. You’re not playing well.’ I told the trainers my groin was not responding.”"

Davis, who was already in a contract year, will now leave the team that uncharacteristically has depth at cornerback. Now No. 1 cornerback Rashaan Melvin has been playing well and will continue his role as the team’s primary cornerback while Pierre Desir has also played well above his pay grade at the No. 2 corner spot.

Rookie Nate Hairston will likely get some more looks in the slot after a decent game last week against Houston. Quincy Wilson, who many Colts fans have been chomping at the bit to see, may make some more appearances in dime packages as well.

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The waiving of Davis represents the latest move in first year general manager Chris Ballard’s youth movement in Indianapolis. Brought in from the previous regime, Davis was in his sixth season with Indy. This season, he only played five of 10 games, logged 21 tackles, two passes defensed and no interceptions, all career lows.