Colts acquire cornerback Mekhi Blackmon in trade with Vikings

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts addressed their unsettled secondary by acquiring Mekhi Blackmon in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

General manager Chris Ballard sent the Vikings a 2026 sixth-round pick to help bolster the team’s cornerback room.

Blackmon, 26, was a 2023 third-round pick of the Vikings who missed last season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in July 2024. As a rookie, he started three of 15 games and had one interception and eight defended passes.

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Blackmon appears to be fully recovered from the torn ACL.

The 5-foot-11, 178-pounder played in all three of the Vikings’ preseason games and started the final two against Tennessee and New England. He was on the field for a total of 117 snaps. He finished with 13 tackles, including a team-high five in the opener against Houston.

It marks the fourth significant move Ballard has made at cornerback this year. The additions:

*Charvarius Ward, who signed a to a three-year contract in March worth a maximum of $60 million with $36 million guaranteed.

*Justin Walley, a third-round pick in April who suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this month.

*Xavien Howard, who signed a one-year contract this month with a maximum value of $5 million.

*Blackmon.

The Colts entered training camp with a strong cornerbacks room, but injuries have been a problem.

Along with Walley’s season-ending injury, Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents missed extended training camp time with hamstring injuries and Kenny Moore II with a knee injury.

Moore returned to practice last week while Brents returned and played in the preseason finale at Cincinnati.

You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.