The Indianapolis Colts held their second padded practice of training camp Thursday at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield.
With the preseason right around the corner, the Colts are ramping up the physicality in preparation for the opener against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Aug. 12.
We also put together a quick roundup of what went down during Thursday’s practice.
Here are seven takeaways from Day 6 of Colts training camp:
1
Injuries and Attendance
- RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) and DE Tyquan Lewis (knee) remain on the active/PUP list and did not practice.
- S Julian Blackmon (hamstring) and CB Julius Brents (hamstring) did not practice for a sixth consecutive day. DE Samson Ebukam (hamstring) did not practice for a fifth consecutive day.
- OT Jake Witt (hip) did not practice for a fourth consecutive day.
- TE Jelani Woods (hamstring), G Emil Ekiyor (undisclosed) and LB Liam Anderson (undisclosed) missed their second consecutive practices.
- LB E.J. Speed (ankle) missed the entire practice after leaving Tuesday’s practice early.
2
Anthony Richardson again the starter
For the second practice in a row, Richardson took every snap with the starting offense. Whether this was part of the plan remains to be seen, but head coach Shane Steichen said following Thursday’s practice that they wanted to get Richardson the extra reps after missing a day due to nasal septum surgery.
According to Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated’s Horseshoe Huddle, here’s how the rookie fared in his second practice as the starter:
Richardson statistically had a better day passing on Thursday (8-of-13 [61.5%]) than the previous practice, which included a touchdown and an interception, but the performance was about the same. There were some completions made that the other quarterbacks simply can’t duplicate due to his arm strength and ability to throw off-platform, but the timing and anticipation of Richardson’s throws were inconsistent, particularly early in the day. He did get more accurate and poised as the practice wore on, however.
The ups and downs are likely to continue for Richardson as he naturally gets acclimated to the speed of the NFL. Whether he continues to get first-team reps will be a major storyline to watch.
3
DeForest Buckner injures foot
The veteran defensive tackle suffered a foot injury early during Thursday’s practice and didn’t return. The severity of the injury is unclear, and this will certainly be something to keep an eye on.
4
Rookies making some noise
It has been a relatively quiet training camp for the rookie class outside of quarterback Anthony Richardson. However, they started to make some noise during Thursday’s practice.
Here’s a snippet from Jake Arthur of some rookie highlights:
Some rookies made some impressive plays, including a play by (Josh) Downs where the ball was bobbling to the ground between him and the defender and he caught it while landing on the ground. (Will) Mallory also made a one-handed catch during 11s in front of (Chris) Lammons before turning upfield for more yardage. (Zavier) Scott also had a short rush touchdown from a few yards out.
There aren’t many starting roles up for grabs, but the rookies must continue to stack days at training camp with the preseason coming up in the next week.
5
Contact next step for The Maniac?
Throughout the first two padded practices, Leonard’s workload has decreased. That is to be expected considering the plan is for him to be eased into contact. The trend continued Thursday as Leonard was again held out of 11-on-11 work but practiced in the 1-on-1 coverage drills, according to Kevin Bowen of 1075 The Fan.
6
Darius Rush makes debut
One of the most intriguing Day 3 picks for the Colts started training camp on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury. However, the fifth-round pick out of South Carolina made his camp debut Thursday after missing the entire first week. He will have the chance to compete for a depth role while eventually working his way up the chart during the preseason.
7
No Jonathan Taylor update
Head coach Shane Steichen still had no update on the Jonathan Taylor saga as of Thursday.
