The role of third safety has been discussed quite a bit among Indianapolis Colts' fans this offseason. While there are a few well-known options on the roster, one name that has continually popped up is Andre Chachere.
With Julian Blackmon out with injury, the logical thought would be that either George Odum or Sean Davis would fill in at safety in his spot. That hasn't been the case however, as that role has been filled by Chachere (with T.J Carrie also rotating in).
Here is what Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus had to say about Chachere after practice on August 7th:
Andre (Chachere), we’re looking at several positions. We really feel good about where Andre is because so far for us he’s played at corner, he can play safety and he can play nickel. So, he’s a versatile athlete and that’s something you look for in the bottom part of your roster.
If you’re not the one, two, but if you’re the three, four or five at a position, you have to have that position flex and that’s what he has. He’s done a good job. I’ll tell you one thing about Andre, last year, he was on the show team and this guy took every rep. I’m talking about 90 reps every single day and he just did it time and time again and didn’t say boo and just kept going with a positive attitude and this guy is having a real good camp for us.
After that high praise for Chachere and seeing him run with the first-team defense, I decided to dive into his career and overall game.
In college, Chachere started 32 games in four years for San Jose State University. He made starts at a variety of positions, which included cornerback, nickel back, safety, and even linebacker.
He was a First Team All-Mountain West cornerback as a junior in 2016. He finished his career with 122 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, 27 pass deflections, and seven interceptions in his collegiate career.
After a successful college career, he went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. He signed with the Houston Texans immediately after the draft, and he has jumped around the league a bit since that day.
Here are his transactions up to date (via Colts.com):
- Signed by the Colts as a free agent on August 23, 2020.
- Waived by the Arizona Cardinals on May 12, 2020.
- Signed to the Cardinals active roster from the Carolina Panthers practice squad on December 18, 2019.
- Signed to the Carolina practice squad on October 21, 2019.
- Released from the Cardinals practice squad on October 11, 2019.
- Signed to the Arizona practice squad on September 11, 2019.
- Waived by the Detroit Lions on August 30, 2019.
- Signed to the Detroit active roster from the practice squad on December 29, 2018.
- Signed to the Lions practice squad on November 21, 2018.
- Released from the Houston Texans practice squad on November 20, 2018.
- Signed to the Texans practice squad on September 2, 2018
- Signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018.
While it is hard to find NFL film on a player who hasn't played a regular season snap up to this point, I did flip back and watch some of his preseason clips with these teams.
There were some struggles, as there are for most young players, but I enjoyed how physical he played. He was always a willing run defender and a consistent tackler. That could be one of the main reason why he is getting those starter snaps at safety in camp.
It is hard to say what Chachere's chances are at making the roster at this point. I will say, though, that those chances are a lot higher than I thought they would be at this point in camp.
Chachere gives off a similar feeling to when Rolan Milligan made the roster back in 2018. It may be a bit of a "surprise" but there is value in a player who can play special teams and that can play multiple positions on defense.
The preseason games will be vital for Chachere and his chances but this has been a strong Training Camp for the three year veteran. Hopefully, it carries into the preseason games and he is able to fight his way onto the roster.
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