INDIANAPOLIS — Xavien Howard knew teams would test him at some point.
The 32-year-old cornerback has been handed a surprising role with the Indianapolis Colts considering that he did not play at all in 2024, leaving him looking for a job deep into training camp in August, when the Colts finally scooped him up and put Howard immediately in the starting lineup.
NFL teams weren’t going to stay away from Howard merely because of his history as a four-time Pro Bowler, and on Sunday, Sean Payton isolated Howard early and often, repeatedly going after the veteran starter with success.
“They attacked me with a lot of quick stuff, quick slants and stuff like ‘now’ routes,” Howard said. “I knew a team was going to attack me early on in the season. I’ve been off a little minute, so I knew guys want to see if I still can play.”
Howard couldn’t rise to the challenge against the Broncos.
According to Pro Football Reference, Howard gave up seven catches, allowed an early touchdown, missed a key tackle and drew three coverage flags in five snaps on one Denver drive, leading to another touchdown for the Broncos.
“On this side, just taking accountability, I just gotta do my job and work on my technique,” Howard said.
Indianapolis did not sign Howard to play a role that prominent.
The Colts forked over $54 million in three years to sign Charvarius Ward this season, bringing in the former 49er to be the No. 1 cornerback coveted by defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Ward was unavailable Sunday due to a concussion, forcing Anarumo to play Howard more than he would have liked. Howard played 66.7% of the snaps in the opener; he played all but two of the defense’s 58 snaps against Denver.
“With (Ward) being down, we knew X’s snaps would go up somewhat, and we knew that it was going to take a minute to get his legs underneath him,” Anarumo said. “He made a lot of good plays on Sunday. Certainly, everybody saw the ones that didn’t go so well for him.”
Indianapolis chose to stick with Howard instead of using undrafted free agent Johnathan Edwards, who made the team with an impressive camp spent playing mostly against the Colts’ starters due to injuries to Justin Walley, Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents.
The Colts believe Howard will continue to get better as he gets acclimated to playing on a weekly basis again.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in his abilities,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “He’s been a good player in this league for a long time. We’ll get it corrected and we’ll go from there.”
Howard isn’t going to have much time to ease into the season.
Even if Ward is out of the concussion protocol and available against Tennessee, NFL teams will typically continue to attack a weak spot in the defense once it appears on tape, especially if there is a player like Ward on the other side to avoid.
But Howard was able to hold up well against the Dolphins, and Anarumo has been telling him ever since Sunday that he needs to shake off an ugly performance against the Broncos and reset.
Indianapolis is going to need a better version of Howard going forward.
“That’s how I work, man,” Howard said. “I feel like as a cornerback, you have to have a short-term memory, just like the quarterbacks. Plays are going to happen. Just got to move on and keep going.”
More tests are coming.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.