March 18, 2026, 5:14 p.m. ET

The Indianapolis Colts announced another free agent addition, signing linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither.

This move provides the Colts with some much-needed experience at the linebacker position.

For more on the Colts’ newest addition at linebacker, here are three observations from this signing.

3 things to know about Akeem Davis-Gaither

Davis-Gaither played under Lou Anarumo: A former fourth-round pick of the Bengals in 2020, Davis-Gaither played his first five NFL seasons (2020-2024) with Anarumo as his defensive coordinator.

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117 tackles: Davis-Gaither put together his best season in 2025 while with the Cardinals, which included posting a career-high 117 total tackles. He had a missed tackle rate of 12%. That ranked 32nd out of 59 eligible linebackers, according to PFF.

Special teams help: Davis-Gaither has played 1,569 career special teams snaps, including four seasons where he totaled at least 289 snaps. He has regularly contributed to five of the six different phases.

Akeem Davis-Gaither’s role with the Colts

As of now, Davis-Gaither sits at the top of the Colts’ linebacker depth chart, given his experience. Before this signing, Jaylon Carlies and his 244 career snaps were the most on the team.

Davis-Gaither’s familiarity with Lou Anarumo’s defense should help him hit the ground running. He also fits that versatile mold that Anarumo covets at the second and third levels, able to impact the game as a blitzer and operate in space as needed.

This signing should not stop Chris Ballard from making another addition — or two — at linebacker, but it does help provide some stability and raise the floor of this unit.

They said it

From early in the 2025 season, here is what then-Cardinals’ defensive coordinator Nick Rallis had to say about Davis-Gaither:

“He’s a pro and he’s a natural linebacker,” Rallis said, via the Cardinals’ team site. “It’s his first year in the defense but it doesn’t feel like it and he picks it up right away, like right away, like one install and he’s got it.”

Rallis added, “He’s got a feel to stack behind those tackles and find the football. He’s been doing a really good job.”

Former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon also had this to say:

“He’s done a good job with his role, what we have asked, and he has a skill set that is unique,” Gannon said. “He’s violent in the run game and he can cover, so that’s pretty cool.”