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According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Indianapolis Colts free agent safety Malik Hooker is scheduled to visit with the Dallas Cowboys next week:
The Cowboys are scheduled to visit with free-agent safeties Damontae Kazee and Malik Hooker next week, according to multiple sources. Both players are coming off Achilles’ tears suffered last season. Kazee played for new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn... https://t.co/prtaKkblCH
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 19, 2021
The former 2017 first round pick of the Colts is coming off a season-ending torn Achilles last season, which limited him to just 2 games, where he recorded 7 tackles (5 solo).
While Hooker showed flashes of his unique ballhawk and centerfield range in Indy, he wasn’t quite the big play turnover magnet Colts fans were hoping for—with 7 career interceptions. That being said, Hooker could likely benefit from a scheme change as more of a single-high safety with another NFL team.
He appears to be a longshot to re-sign with the Colts for that very reason, along with the fact that the Colts already have two starting caliber safeties: Khari Willis and Julian Blackmon, and prefer to have their safeties be able to show off versatility in the secondary—and be deployed interchangeably.
That being said, set to turn just 25 years old in a few weeks, Hooker still has youth, a former first rounder’s pedigree, and traits that simply cannot be taught. It’s just a matter of whether he can stay healthy—having already missed 24 starts in his 4-year career and be featured in a defensive system that better utilizes his unique coverage skill-set.
Colts fans wish him well, as he likely won’t return in Indianapolis.