March 23, 2026, 7:57 a.m. ET

Among the several signings made in free agency, the Indianapolis Colts have added linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither to the mix. Over the Cap now has Davis-Gaither’s contract details.

Compared to a number of the other outside free agent signings made by the Colts, they are much more committed to Davis-Gaither from a contract standpoint.

While his deal is for one-year and is worth a modest $2.725 million, this includes a $1 million signing bonus. He is set to earn a base salary of $1.215 million, with $500,000 of that guaranteed. There is also a roster bonus baked into this deal that is worth $510,000.

Davis-Gaither’s salary cap number this year is $2.725 million.

Considering the current state of the linebacker position for the Colts, this doesn’t come as a surprise, but chances are that Davis-Gaither will be on the 53-man roster as of now, given his contract structure.

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If the Colts were to release him, he would leave behind a dead cap hit of $1.5 million, with Indianapolis only saving $1.225 million in cap space.

Akeem Davis-Gaither’s fit with the Colts

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.

Last season with Arizona, he had his most productive year in the NFL, which included recording 117 total tackles. In coverage, he allowed 10.9 yards per catch with one interception and two pass breakups, according to PFF.

Davis-Gaither will also bring special teams experience to the Colts, having played 1,569 career special teams snaps, and often doing so across five of the six different phases.

The addition of Davis-Gaither adds needed experience to this position group. Before signing him, Jaylon Carlies, who has a little over 200 career defensive snaps, was the most experienced player on the roster at this position group.

Davis-Gaither currently sits at the top of the linebacker depth chart, but GM Chris Ballard should be looking to make more additions, whether through free agency, the NFL draft, or both. This is a unit that still has quite a few question marks.