The Colts have five training camp practices under their belt, and the competition at free safety still has way more questions than answers.
During OTAs and minicamp, it was Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas both working with the first team defense. But during training camp, in a bit of a surprise, after the Colts moved Ronnie Harrison from safety to linebacker last season, he was thrown into the mix at free safety.
Making that move even more head-scratching is that in recent years, even when playing the safety position, Harrison has been a strong safety, not a free safety.
“Well, for us, when Ronnie gets in there,” said Gus Bradley on Saturday, “it seems like something good happens, whether he’s playing linebacker, he’s playing strong safety, and so we thought, you know what, we’ve got this competition going on back there.
“I mean, something good does happen, let’s take a look at it. Does he have the skill set needed to play that and give him an opportunity to compete with the rest of them.”
After a handful of practices, Stephen Holder, who covers the Colts for ESPN, would say after Wednesday’s practice that the “situation at free safety right now is curious, at best.”
James Boyd, who covers the Colts for The Athletic, would say that free safety is his “most concerning thing” up to this point in training camp.
Who is going to win the starting job still remains unclear–although there is certainly still time for that to be worked out.
However, there does seem to be a pecking order that is beginning to take place with Boyd also adding that Cross and Harrison are rotating reps with the starters while Thomas appears to be the third option.
“It’s been good,” said Bradley after Wednesday’s practice about the free safety battle. “I think that was one of the positions we looked at yesterday and started to see some flashes where that execution part is there.
“So now, when you see them play with good execution, you can kind of judge their speed then. They’re not thinking as much. We still got some work to do there as far as our evaluation goes, but it’s going in the right direction.”
Inconsistent play at the safety position was a contributing factor to the number of big plays surrendered in the passing game last season. Looking ahead to the Colts’ first few games of the season, they begin the year facing CJ Stroud and Jordan Love.
When speaking with reporters before camp began, GM Chris Ballard didn’t rule out adding to the position group, but he said that he first wants to see how the competition at safety unfolds first, which could even extend into the season.
“We like our young players,” said Ballard. “I’m not saying we won’t do something. We definitely could. But I want to see these young guys get after it and compete.”
