WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Colts’ quarterback battle is hardly the only competition taking place in training camp. There’s a case to be made every position group has some level of top-line competition, whether it’s for a starting role or a spot on the depth chart.
And that competitive list includes special teams, where Spencer Shrader and Maddux Trujillo are competing to be the Colts’ kicker.
Shrader, a 2024 undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, appeared in one game for the Colts last season and bounced around their practice squad before a whirlwind stretch in which he kicked for the New York Jets for a week, then immediately went to the Kansas City Chiefs for two weeks. He connected on a game-winning, time-expiring field goal for the Chiefs; he made all five of his field goal attempts and all nine of his PATs between the Colts, Jets and Chiefs last year.
The Colts brought Shrader back as a free agent in March, released veteran Matt Gay a few weeks later then brought in Trujillo as an undrafted free agent. Trujillo spent his college career at Austin Peay and Temple; at Temple, he connected on a 64-yard field goal that stands as the longest field goal ever made at Lincoln Financial Field.
So the Colts are embarking on a kicking competition between Shrader – who’s attempted (and made) 14 kicks in the NFL – and Trujillo, a rookie.
On Friday, Shrader and Trujillo kicked for the first time in a full-team practice, with Shrader making four of six attempts and Trujillo connecting on three of five tries. But there will be more opportunities for both to kick in the next few weeks, whether it’s in a pre-practice script, during practices/scrimmages and as part of the Colts’ three preseason games.
“There’s plenty of times where we’re going kick individually or in pre-practice that will be scripted and evaluated, but the biggest time that they are going to be evaluated is when we go into a team setting, when we go into a joint practice, when we go in preseason,” special teams coordinator Brian Mason said. “That is truly an open competition, so we’re trying to get those guys equal reps as much as we possibly can early on to see who can kind of take hold of that competition. There is really no timetable on that, but that’s something we’ll work on as we go throughout training camp to see who kind of takes the lead.”