Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS –.For the second straight open OTA, it was Gardner Minshew taking the starting reps, while Anthony Richardson had an up and down Wednesday practice.
The Colts are in their final week of OTAs, with just one more week left in the offseason program.
These are voluntary sessions, although attendance is extremely high. It’s the first time this spring that the Colts can practice in 11-on-11 periods with coaches on the field. Full pads are not allowed though.
Just a reminder, the media gets to watch 1 OTA session each week, but we will be able to watch the entire 3-day minicamp coming up next Tuesday-Thursday.
Here are some takeaways from the Colts third open OTA session of the spring:
- Isaiah Rodgers Sr. wasn’t present at Wednesday’s practice, therefore he once again wasn’t taking part in team drills. Rodgers has been present at prior open OTA sessions this spring, but has yet to take team reps in front of the media. Shane Steichen was not fielding questions on the Rodgers’ gambling violation situation. Steichen did mention there’s an educational part to Colts players about understanding the gambling rules, and members of the NFL were in the team’s building this week to stress those (this was planned before the Rodgers story broke). We now await for more comment from the NFL and the Colts in regards to Rodgers’ status. Colts linebacker E.J. Speed shared some thoughts on the educational aspect from the league in saying: “What I got from that is don’t gamble. It’s not worth it,” Speed said on Wednesday.
- For the second straight open OTA session, it was Gardner Minshew taking all the starting reps. This is a change from Richardson taking more of the starting reps during our first OTA viewing, two weeks ago. But Shane Steichen cautioned after Wednesday’s practice that the flip side of that is occurring in other OTA sessions that are not open to the public. On Wednesday, it was Minshew getting 12 starting reps, with Richardson having 14 plays, all with the second unit. Minshew continues to be very efficient, although he one-hopped a would-be touchdown to Ashton Dulin on a 2-minute drill. Minshew was 9-of-11 in team drills on Wednesday.
- Wednesday brought the best individual highlight we’ve seen from Richardson, and then his rockiest team session. The highlight was a perfect dime, north of 30-40 yards in the air, into a window near the sideline to newcomer Breshad Perriman during a 7-on-7 period. The corner route throw was perfectly placed for the most impressive big play we’ve seen from Richardson, in a 7-on-7, or 11-on-11, session. The lowlight on Wednesday came with Richardson leading the second unit on a 2-minute drill (more like 1-minute), down by 7 points. Richardson went 3-of-7 in the period, with veteran cornerback Tony Brown dropping two interceptions, and the drive ending inside the 10-yard line. Richardson also missed a touchdown throw by throwing short while rolling out to his right. It was the shakiest team period we’ve seen from Richardson in our 3 OTA viewings. Following Wednesday’s practice, Steichen mentioned how the red-zone aspect for a rookie QB can be one of the more challenging aspects, given the tightness of those windows. Steichen was very complimentary of that deep corner throw to Perriman by the rookie. Perriman, a veteran of 8 years was impressed by the ball, as well. “His arm is crazy,” Perriman, who the Colts signed on Monday, said on Wednesday. While Richardson is rocking a red jersey (meaning “no contact”), he did take off on an impressive scramble during an 11-on-11 play.
- If you are looking for a potential starting date for a quarterback from Steichen, or a time period he would like for a starter to emerge, the head coach didn’t offer anything up when asked about it on Wednesday. August 12th is the first preseason game, with another on the 19th and the third and final one on the 24th. It’ll be interesting to see how early into August we see more of a commitment to Gardner Minshew/Anthony Richardson, with one of them receiving the majority of reps.
- It’s time to look at other names at cornerback. A couple to watch include Darrell Baker Jr. and Tony Brown, who played mainly a special teams role for the Colts last year. Both of those guys are getting ample work right now due to Rodgers being out, and rookies JuJu Brents (wrist) and Darius Rush (hamstring) both sidelined. Kenny Moore and Dallis Flowers are two definite starters this spring. Once that Rodgers punishment comes down, we will see if the Colts opt to dip into the free agency market at corner.
- Let’s say Rodgers is going to miss ample time in 2023, that makes for quite the cornerback change from last year. The cornerback snaps for the Colts in 2022 went like this: Stephon Gilmore-1,134 (now in Dallas), Kenny Moore-773, Brandon Facyson-455 (now in Las Vegas), Isaiah Rodgers-430 (being investigated for violating league’s gambling policy), Dallis Flowers-174. So that’s a cornerback room potentially missing 2,019 snaps from last year, while returning 947 snaps, and 773 of those coming from Moore.
- If you are looking for the healthiest units this spring, it’s probably the offensive and defensive lines. The flip side of that has been the wide receivers and tight end positions. The pass catchers, specifically the front line guys at those spots, have been absent though for a huge chunk of the OTAs. When the media has been out there, the Colts have mostly been without their No. 1 WR (Michael Pittman), No. 2 WR (Alec Pierce), No. 3 (Josh Downs) and then the tight end group has not had Jelani Woods, Drew Ogletree and Will Mallory. It’s not ideal for Gardner Minshew/Anthony Richardson as they prepare to throw to guys who will actually be starting/playing this fall.
- Among the Colts watching on Wednesday: P-Rigoberto Sanchez (Achilles), WR-Josh Downs (knee), WR-Michael Pittman (hip), WR-Alec Pierce (foot), RB-Jonathan Taylor (ankle), CB-Isaiah Rodgers Sr., LB-E.J. Speed, LB-Shaquille Leonard (back), TE-Jelani Woods (hamstring), TE-Drew Ogletree (knee), TE-Will Mallory (foot), CB-JuJu Brents (wrist), CB-Darius Rush (hamstring).
- With the names above sitting out, the Colts starting offense on Wednesday was: QB-Gardner Minshew, RB-Zack Moss, TE-Kylen Granson, WR-Ashton Dulin, WR-Mike Strachan, WR-Isaiah McKenzie, LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Ryan Kelly, RG-Will Fries, RT-Braden Smith. The starting defense: DE-Kwity Paye, DE-Samson Ebukam, DT-DeForest Buckner, DT-Grover Stewart, LB-Zaire Franklin, LB-Segun Olubi, CB-Tony Brown, CB-Kenny Moore, CB-Dallis Flowers, S-Julian Blackmon, S-Rodney Thomas.
- The Colts are in their final week of 10 OTA sessions. The team will conclude their offseason program with a mandatory 3-day minicamp next Tuesday-Thursday.
