Observations Form Colts First Minicamp Practice Of 2025
INDIANAPOLIS – Perfect attendance is always a good thing this time of year.
That happened for the Colts at the start of their 2025 mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
Here are the observations from the team’s first minicamp practice:
-Outside of Anthony Richardson going out to Los Angeles to see the doctor (Neal ElAttrache) who performed shoulder surgery on him during the fall of 2023 for a second opinion, it sounds pretty status quo on any No. 5 updates. Shane Steichen did confirm on Tuesday that Richardson went out to Los Angeles to see Dr. ElAttrache, but the plan is still the same for the Colts with their young quarterback, no surgery needed, just rehab, will wait for doctor’s clearance before he resumes throwing. Based off the start of training camp on July 22nd (report day), Richardson will be just under 2 months removed from when he stopped throwing in late May, when Grand Park activity opens up.
-While the Colts have said they don’t plan on signing another veteran quarterback right now, they had 1 of their 8 veteran tryout spots going to former third-round pick Desmond Ridder on Tuesday. A third-round pick in 2022, Ridder has started 18 games in his career. If, and emphasis on if, this Anthony Richardson right shoulder thing really lingers, then the Colts could have a decision to make as their backup plans behind Daniel Jones. Not only is Riley Leonard, who took the second-team reps on Tuesday, a rookie, but he also is a first-year player needing some real fine-tuning as a thrower. So, I’d view Ridder has a look into potential backup insurance for Jones. If the Colts want to keep Ridder after Thursday, they will have to make a corresponding roster move on their 90-man roster.
-How beneficial is this for Daniel Jones, who will now get 7 of the 9 practices running the starting offense this spring? Shane Steichen acknowledged the advantage Jones is getting with this new offense. “Yeah, I think he’s going to have a lot of reps going forward this week and we’ll see how training camp play out,” the head coach said before Tuesday’s practice. Steichen says he doesn’t have an ideal date to name a starting quarterback, but that is something to watch when August arrives, knowing the regular season opener is September 7th, and the practice days start to dwindle once preseason games begin on August 7th.
-Tuesday’s team focus at practice was on red-zone with a mixed bag from the starting offense. Jones had some strong moments early on, but also saw the passing offense stall out later on.
-On my list of random Tuesday practice notes: Strong plays on the ball from LB-Cam McGrone, CB-Samuel Womack III; AD Mitchell catching a couple of touchdowns; Josh Downs proving to be reliable early on; both Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce out 50/50-ing competitive rookie Justin Walley for a touchdown.
-After missing some time during OTAs, JuJu Brents was back from a groin injury during Tuesday’s first minicamp session. Brents has played just 11 out of a possible 34 games in his career. Off-season attempts with the hyperbaric chamber, Pilates, yoga have all been tried to try and string together a healthier upcoming season. The Colts aren’t needing Brents to play a starting role in 2025 with the signing of Charvarius Ward and the drafting of Justin Walley in Round 3. Brents is giddy about playing in Lou Anarumo’s defense, believing the aggressive/more pressing ask from cornerbacks fits the physicality of his own style.
-Year 2 for Laiatu Latu has brought a focus on building upper body strength in the offseason and a desire to improve his IQ on the field. Latu has quite the ambitious goal of 1 sack per game. On Tuesday, Latu felt like he did fully realize the grind of an NFL season last year. The first-round pick didn’t have a sack, tackle for loss or quarterback hit in the final 5 games of last season (164 defensive snaps).
-Shane Steichen says he will change up the handling of some training camp practices in 2025. They won’t have a day off from practice on Day 2 (like they did last year). They will implement more sudden change situations into practice, striving to be better in that area after last season (and play more complimentary football). They will have more live periods with their third-team units. They will have a single joint practice in Week 1 of the preseason, with Baltimore, and then 1 with Green Bay in Week 2 of the preseason. The preseason finale could have more of a regular season dress rehearsal, with no joint practices that week. Steichen said part of this is a goal to be a better conditioned team in the 4th quarter early in the season.
-Unlike with some other teams around the NFL, no contract issues for the Colts this minicamp. Shane Steichen said the Colts had perfect attendance for their mandatory minicamp. Remember, the Colts have had some contract issues develop in past springs with Kenny Moore II and Jonathan Taylor.
-Players that didn’t appear to be participating in Tuesday’s first minicamp practice: TE-Drew Ogletree (soft tissue injury), LB-Zaire Franklin (boot on his left leg after ankle surgery earlier this month), LB-Jaylon Carlies (recovering from off-season shoulder surgery), CB-Jaylon Jones, S-Daniel Scott, WR-Blayne Taylor, CB-David Long Jr., DE-Samson Ebukam, TE-Maxmilian Man, OT-Blake Freeland. Michael Pittman Jr. (knee) was back practicing after getting hurt last week.
