By all accounts, Justin Walley and Hunter Wohler were both on track to have impressive and impactful rookie seasons with the Colts.
Walley, a Minnesota cornerback selected by the Colts in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, was earning starting snaps in training camp alongside veterans Kenny Moore II and Charvarius Ward Sr., and had even the toughest of critics in Lou Anarumo praising his skills. And Wohler, the Colts’ seventh-round pick from Wisconsin, quickly showed his versatility as both a safety and a linebacker and seemed ready to take on a big role on special teams.
Expectations kept rising for both rookies as training camp continued, until injuries struck them both in the first few weeks of August; Walley tore his ACL during the Colts’ joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens and Wohler sustained a foot injury (more specifically, a Lisfranc injury) during the Colts’ preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Both players were placed on season-ending injured reserve, postponing their NFL debuts another year.
Both men then were left to dedicate themselves fully to their rehab and recovery during the 2025 season, pushing themselves as hard as they could to get back to feeling like themselves.
“It’s tough,” Wohler said after the season. “No doubt, it’s tough. Every week wishing you were out there, but like I said, it’s on God’s timing. I can make a plan for everything, but it doesn’t come down to what I want. And so you show up every day with a great mindset, ready to go, smile on your face and doing everything you can in the position that you’re at to make it seem better. You go to meetings, you talk to guys, you have conversations and try to understand what the game plan is that week, what we did right and wrong in the games. Just trying to keep your mind sharp a little bit and still involved with the team without actually being on the field. But having those conversations with the guys is great, and trying to pick up little things as much as I can, just to get me ready for next season, so that way when the time comes we’ll be ready.”