Westfield, IN — The Indianapolis Colts enter the second week of preseason play with more questions than answers. Following a preseason opener against the Ravens that brought attention to a national audience, the Colts needed to rebound in a big way to instill confidence in their fanbase.
Saving the quarterback discourse for later, Indy’s overall health has entered concerning territory as of late. Going into the weekend’s slate of practices and following their preseason opener, the main concerns surrounding the Colts’ health rested in the hands (pinkie) of Anthony Richardson, as well as the unfortunate blow to the once-was deep cornerback room as rookie CB Justin Walley was ruled out for the season after tearing his ACL in the joint practice with Baltimore.
Unfortunately, after both practices this weekend, that concern materialized into a CVS receipt of nagging injuries. To quickly recap, here are the four players who either left practice early today or sat out altogether: WR Alec Pierce (groin), CB Kenny Moore II (knee), DE Kwity Paye (groin), & Nick Cross (hip flexor). Head coach Shane Steichen was not able to provide any update on the severity of said injuries, but the sheer volume is enough to worry.
Even though LB Zaire Franklin ramped up his rehab this weekend, participating in team period drills for the first time this summer, second-year LB Jaylon Carlies (knee, TBD) has yet to practice in the month of August. With so much left to iron out before the regular season arrives, this injury bug is the last thing this Colts team needed.
As for the quarterback competition, Daniel Jones appears to be taking a lead in the race. It’s by no means a landslide, but Anthony Richardson’s recent injury has seemingly dampened expectations for the latter half of training camp.
Regarding Richardson, it was indeed promising that he suited up for this weekend’s practices. He struggled efficiency-wise during his first practice back, reverting to his old self at times with some off-target throws in team periods, but the velocity and reformed decisiveness remained a steady constant.
The first practice in question was a red zone-heavy affair in which Daniel Jones shined, going an efficient 5-6 through the air, though context is needed. Jones’ run with the starters came in high RZ (from the 20 going in), whereas Richardson’s came in low RZ (from 10 going in). It’s no secret that Richardson desperately needs to improve as a passer the closer he gets to the goal line, but I feel it’s important to note that difference, given Jones had much more room to work with and the subsequent quick-hitting pass concepts played heavily in his favor numerous times.
Richardson was indeed inefficient in his first showing back, though I’d argue he had just as many highlights as he did lowlights. I can recall two truly horrid misses, but I also remember a dropped TD from Michael Pittman Jr. in 11-on-11 and two TDs to AD Mitchell in 7-on-7 play. Richardson also had a rushing TD in 11-on-11, for what that’s worth. It was an uninspiring first day back, no doubt; however, I felt like it was more or less the first practice after a quarterback dislocated his finger on his throwing hand.
As for Sunday’s practice, Anthony Richardson was the definition of hit-or-miss through the air. He’s had numerous practices during training camp, even stacking a good portion of them, that resulted in a strong team period from start to finish, but these past two days were not of that outcome. Like Saturday, Richardson’s Sunday featured both strong and poor throwing performances. He began the day with the starters and immediately misfired his first two attempts, but rebounded in the session with three straight strong throws. Moving forward with his team periods, Richardson’s hot and cold weekend continued. Perhaps the injury to his finger is indeed nagging, thus preventing him from finding a groove, but that’s not exactly what Colts fans want to hear about a player who has quickly been deemed injury-prone through just two seasons in the NFL.
As for Daniel Jones, his efficient showing on Saturday devolved into a similarly inconsistent day through the air. Jones has proven to thrive as a quick-game passer, particularly out of play-action and RPOs, but today featured off-target throws even in the underneath portion of the field. He would eventually reel it in toward the latter half of practice, finding that aforementioned comfort level among short passing concepts. What hasn’t evaded Jones, however, is his presence in the pocket (or lack thereof). Aside from a quick would-be Laiatu Latu sack, today showcased some poor moments from Jones in this area. Although he would find completions on a couple of examples, Jones very clearly allows the pass rush to speed up his process and thus disrupt his rhythm as a quarterback.
The illustrious quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones may very well be a coin flip at this point in time, aka the last thing Colts fans want to hear. The goal that was established by bringing Daniel Jones into the fray was that the hopeful franchise quarterback (Richardson) would prove himself to be worth betting on over the otherwise mundane and limited play that Jones offers. So far, Richardson has yet to separate himself from Jones, and with such little time left to rebound, the outlook looks bleak.
Second-year WR AD Mitchell has exploded since the pads came on a couple of weeks back. Stacking his strong stretch into the joint practice with the Ravens and then continuing that dominance into this weekend, it’s looking like a tall task to keep Mitchell off of the field, especially if Pierce’s groin injury causes him to miss any time.Rookie Tyler Warren is as legit as they come. His strong preseason opener proved that he’s the definition of as advertised, given that he looks like the exact same player at Penn State as he does amongst the world’s best talent.TE Will Mallory continued his strong training camp this weekend. He’s turning into a fun player that may very well be utilized as a big slot passcatcher as opposed to a traditional in-line blocking tight end. He even played the point in bunch formation with the starters numerous times in 7-on-7 play.Maybe a byproduct of the recent slew of injuries in the defensive backfield, but rookie S Hunter Wohler has recently been getting a ton of run with the starters as the primary box safety, particularly in red zone play.WR Anthony Gould’s effort remains impressive, though his recent drops issue is bordering on a cause for concern.RB Jonathan Taylor has been working on his hands nonstop through training camp. Hopefully that materializes on gameday(s), but it’s worth noting that he’s taken every measure to improve in that area of his game.G Quenton Nelson raved about Tyler Warren’s work ethic after practice today: “He’s always grinding with his head down. I’ve caught him getting a pump in post-practice, and I’m like, What are you doing, rookie? Are you trying to make me look bad?.. You don’t see the kid having a bad day. He always wants to be better.”