Kenny Moore II’s nine-year tenure with the Colts as a standout cornerback, team captain and off-the-field leader has come to an end. Indianapolis released the 30-year-old Pro Bowl corner Thursday, the team announced, nearly one month after Moore requested a trade.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters ahead of last month’s NFL Draft that Moore came to the conclusion this offseason that it was “time for a change” as he enters the 10th season of his career. Moore joined the Colts weeks before the 2017 campaign as a rookie undrafted free agent who had been cut by the Patriots, and he would go on to make five starts that season.
Through his fifth season in the league in 2021, Moore had 14 interceptions and he was voted to the Pro Bowl at the end of that year. Moore would go on to twice set the nickel corner salary market in ensuing deals with the Colts — the most recent a three-year, $30 million deal in March of 2024.
This latest move saves the Colts, who already held roughly $26 millon in cap space ahead of the draft, $7.06 million against the cap for the upcoming season while leaving the franchise with $6.05 million in dead money left on the books. Moore was entering the final year of his contract this season, one where he was set to make $9.49 million in base salary and up to $510,000 in per-game roster bonus money, though none of it was guaranteed. The Colts and Moore agreed last fall to a revised contract that converted $4.75 million in salary money from 2025 into a bonus, and the sides also tacked on three void years to space out the hit of the bonus.
With Moore’s release, the Colts’ salary cap in 2026 will take the entirety of the hit of the remaining pro-rated signing bonus money that has already been paid to Moore.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts release CB Kenny Moore; what it means to depth chart, salary cap
Reporting by Nathan Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
