Report: Mike Mitchell Agrees to Contract with Colts After 4 Years with Steelers

The Indianapolis Colts and free-agent safety Mike Mitchell agreed to a deal Tuesday, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Mitchell, 31, spent the last four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team cut him for salary-cap reasons at the start of the league year.

A starter each of his four years with the team, Mitchell recorded 53 tackles without an interception last season. He failed to record a pick in two of the last four years, though that wasn't much of an issue given his help in the run game.

The 2009 second-round pick is known as one of the league's hardest hitters and has criticized the league's de-emphasis on his style of play. 

"Just hand us all some flags. Hand us all some flags, and we'll go out there and try to grab the flags off. Because we're not playing football," Mitchell told reporters during the season. "This is not damn football. When I was six years old watching Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson, Sean Taylor, the hitters, Jack Tatum—that's football. This ain't football."

Pelissero reported Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Mitchell the team was interested in bringing him back. Pittsburgh saved around $5 million in cap space by cutting him, and bringing him back at a lower figure was always an option.

However, it appears Indianapolis came through with a better option. The Colts will hope Mitchell's production returns to 2016 levels rather than the injury-plagued struggles that undid his 2017 campaign. His three missed games last season matched a career high.

Indianapolis needs better production out of its secondary considering it is an ugly 28th in the league in passing yards allowed per game. The defensive struggles are a primary reason it is 1-4 and sitting in last place in the AFC South.

Safeties Clayton Geathers (knee) and Malik Hooker (hip) are each listed on the team's injury report as well, so Mitchell provides depth and insurance should either of them be sidelined.