The Indianapolis Colts Just Signed Jonathan Owens — Yes, Simone Biles’ Husband
Let’s be honest. The moment most people saw Jonathan Owens’ name trending on Friday, at least half of them Googled “is that Simone Biles’ husband?” before they even checked his stats. And honestly? Fair. But here’s the thing — there’s a real football story buried underneath all that celebrity buzz, and it’s actually worth talking about.
Who Is Jonathan Owens, and Why Do the Colts Need Him?
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on March 13, citing sports agent Sunny Shah: the Indianapolis Colts have signed safety Jonathan Owens to a one-year deal. No, it’s not a headline-stealing mega-contract like Daniel Jones’ two-year, $88 million extension or Alec Pierce’s jaw-dropping $116 million commitment to stay in Indy. But sometimes the most important moves are the quiet ones.
Here’s the situation the Colts found themselves in heading into free agency at the safety position: thin. Really thin. With Nick Cross departing to Washington, the depth chart behind starter Cam Bynum looked less like a depth chart and more like a suggestion. The Colts needed warm bodies with actual NFL experience back there, and Owens fits that bill.
What Does Owens Actually Bring to the Table?
Owens went undrafted out of Missouri Western State back in 2018 — not exactly a pedigree that makes scouts weak in the knees. But he’s quietly carved out a seven-year NFL career, appearing in 82 games and making 35 starts along the way. That’s not a guy just hanging around for a paycheck. That’s a guy who has competed and earned his roster spot every single year.
He spent time in Houston from 2019 through 2022, had a season in Green Bay, and then two years with the Chicago Bears. His most productive defensive stretches came in 2022 and 2023, when he logged 28 starts and was a legitimate contributor in the secondary. Last season in Chicago, his role shrunk to mostly special teams work — 19 regular-season tackles and one more in the playoffs. Not flashy, but useful.
According to Pro Football Focus, Owens has lined up at free safety and in the box during his career, with the bulk of his snaps coming from a deep alignment. For Indianapolis, he slides in behind Bynum as a veteran presence who knows how to play the position and won’t panic when the lights come on.
A Busy, Busy Offseason for Indianapolis
Let’s step back and appreciate just how much has happened in Indianapolis over the past few weeks, because general manager Chris Ballard has been moving like a man with a to-do list the length of his arm.
First, the Colts traded Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin — a guy who led the entire NFL in combined tackles in 2024, mind you — to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for defensive tackle Colby Wooden. A painful move to make, but Ballard has been crystal clear: this defense needs to get younger and faster.
Then came the Alec Pierce extension at $116 million, followed quickly by the re-signing of Daniel Jones on a deal worth up to $100 million. Somewhere in there, they also dealt Michael Pittman Jr. to Pittsburgh, freeing up $24 million in cap space and helping finance the rebuild.
Signing Owens is the final piece — at least for now — of a safety room that still likely needs more attention before Week 1.
The Simone Biles Factor (You Knew This Was Coming)
Look, we can’t write about Jonathan Owens without at least acknowledging the elephant in the room. The man is married to Simone Biles — a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and arguably the greatest gymnast in human history.
They met on a dating app called Raya in March 2020, got married at a Houston courthouse in April 2023, and then threw a second ceremony in Cabo because, well, when you’re that couple, one wedding just doesn’t feel like enough.
Owens is used to being the second-most famous person in his own household, and he seems to wear it just fine. Indianapolis, however, might want to update its promotional materials — because if Simone Biles is showing up to games at Lucas Oil Stadium this fall, ticket demand is about to look a lot different.
What This Means for the 2026 Colts
The signing of Jonathan Owens won’t win the Colts a Super Bowl. Nobody is pretending otherwise. But it adds a veteran with legitimate starting experience to a safety room that desperately needed depth, keeps Cam Bynum from operating entirely without a safety net, and rounds out a special teams unit that is always better with dependable, experienced contributors.
The bigger picture here is this: the Colts went 8-2 with a healthy Daniel Jones before injuries derailed their season entirely. Jones is back. Pierce is back. The offense has real identity. Now Ballard is doing the hard, unglamorous work of building a defense capable of keeping them in games when things get tight.
One-year depth signings don’t generate much fanfare. But they’re the kind of move that separates franchises that compete from franchises that just show up. The Colts, it seems, are very much trying to compete.
