Harold Miller (Bedford, Ind.): I am a huge believer in Adonai Mitchell, I think he learned a valuable lesson against the Rams. Do you think that will make him grow?
JJ Stankevitz: While head coach Shane Steichen, when asked if Mitchell will play Sunday against the Raiders, said “we’ll see how the week goes,” everything we’ve heard about the second-year receiver has been that he’s handled his mistake against the Rams with accountability and maturity. Mitchell took accountability publicly in a media session after Sunday’s game, and then he addressed his team at the first opportunity he had – on Monday to begin the Colts’ first team meeting of Week 5.
“AD is a special talent, we all know that,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “I mean, the hardest part of the play was the catch, the spin, getting down there breaking free. The last part is fixable. Just the attention to detail, and he knows that. That maturity he has, him coming up in the team meeting, apologizing to the team – that just shows maturity right there. He knows. He cares. He loves ball, he loves his team. So we’re always going to have his back.”
Still, what Steichen wants to see is Mitchell turn his verbal message into actions that show what happened in Los Angeles – which Mitchell said was due to a “lack of focus” before he crossed the goal line – never happens again.
“Accountability is a big part of this thing and sometimes the outside world doesn’t see the accountability that I talk to you guys about, but it takes place in this building a lot of times,” Steichen said. “And it’s your actions, too, after something like that happens, you’ve got to flip a switch and go prove it because words are words. Words can change your thoughts, but actions can change right in here (points to heart). So it’s about action going forward.”
Mitchell has to prove he will learn from his mistake, but there’s no doubting how much talent he possesses – and, hearing from teammates and coaches this week, they all see a player who cares and will do what he can to grow from what happened Sunday.