Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS –.Mother Nature sent the Colts indoors on Friday morning, with morning storms in the Westfield area knocking out the first sold out practice of camp.
That meant a sold out crowd of 6,500 turned into just 750 allowed indoors for a practice that lasted a little over an hour.
Here are some takeaways from Day 2 of Colts training camp:
- Shane Steichen promised some flip flopping with his quarterback competition and we saw that on Day 2, as Anthony Richardson received all 15 reps (3 separate 5-play periods). “Really nice job,” is how Steichen described the starting work for Richardson on Friday. Richardson went 3-of-5 (5-of-7 overall for camp). He completed his balls to Isaiah McKenzie, Evan Hull and Michael Pittman. Friday offered a glimpse into what Richardson can bring though. Albeit in a 7-on-7 rep with no pass rush, Richardson flushed himself from the pocket, keeping a scramble drill alive and uncorking a ball that traveled around 50 yards in the air. On the other end, Alec Pierce hauled in the bomb form Richardson. Again, this was with no pass rush, but it was a flash of what separates Richardson and how a big play is always in the equation when he’s scrambling. In those 7-on-7 sessions though, Richardson is much more prone to hold onto the ball longer than Gardner Minshew. One thing to note on Richardson, his 5 completions so far in the team portions of camp (11-on-11 periods) have all been in the underneath variety, with nothing down the field.
- With Richardson getting the starting reps on Friday, that pushed Gardner Minshew into second team work. Minshew received 12 reps with the second unit (3 separate 4-play periods). He started 0-for-2 but then completed his final 6 passes to end the day 6-of-8 (11-of-14 overall for camp). That day for Minshew included a drop from rookie Evan Hull. Minshew completed balls to Ethan Fernea-2, Kylen Granson, Drew Ogletree, Malik Turner and Ashton Dulin. So through two days of camp, each of the two QBs competing have received a full day of 15 reps with the starters. What will Saturday night bring?
- After an off day on Thursday, Shaquille Leonard slightly increased his impressive workload to start camp. It was Leonard once again taking part in the individual periods, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions. Leonard’s time with the starters was the first 3 plays of each the three separate team periods. In total, Leonard was on the field for 9 of the 15 starting reps on Friday. That compares to 6 of the 15 reps for Leonard on Wednesday. Even more so than Wednesday, Leonard’s fired up energy was on full display indoors.
- The Colts practiced some more tempo on Friday, with a continued focus on the run game, especially the perimeter.
- Jonathan Taylor was once again present and watching Friday’s practice as he remains on the PUP list, with no boot on his injured/surgically repaired ankle. As this contract situation boiled over even more into the public environment on Thursday, Shane Steichen played it close to the vest on Friday. “He’s here,” Steichen said of Taylor following Friday’s practice. “We’ve had private conversations and I’ll keep those private. But he’s here every single day.”
- With JuJu Brents continuing to miss time (Shane Steichen said the hamstring injury for Brents shouldn’t sideline him for much longer), that has allowed for the likes of Dallis Flowers, Tony Brown and Darrell Baker Jr. to get ample looks with the 1st unit. If you count the 12 team sessions the Colts had in the spring, Brents has now missed all 14 times this season the Colts have had 11-on-11 work. Will that impact the 2nd round pick from Warren Central to play/start in Year One?
- The training camp roommate for Anthony Richardson? Fellow draft pick Josh Downs.
- As we pointed out in the spring, undrafted free agent Zavier Scott was working out as a hybrid running back/wide receiver. Shane Steichen labeled the Maine product as a “running back” on Friday and that’s what we’ve seen so far in training camp.
- If you are looking for the debut of full pads for the Colts in their 2023 training camp, it’s coming Monday morning at their 4th practice of camp.
- Here is how the starting offense looked on Friday: QB-Anthony Richardson, RB-Zack Moss, WR-Michael Pittman Jr., WR-Alec Pierce, TE-Mo Alie-Cox, TE-Drew Ogletree, LT-Bernhard Raimann, LG-Quenton Nelson, C-Ryan Kelly, RG-Will Fries, RT, Braden Smith.
- Here is how the starting defense looked on Friday: DE-Dayo Odeyingbo, DT-Grover Stewart, DT-DeForest Buckner, DE-Kwity Paye, LB-Zaire Franklin, LB-Shaquille Leonard, LB-E.J. Speed, CB-Kenny Moore, CB-Dallis Flowers, S-Rodney Thomas II, S-Nick Cross.
- Guys that stood out at Friday’s practice: RB-Evan Hull, RB-Deon Jackson, DE-Genard Avery, LB-JoJo Domann, WR-Ethan Fernea.
- Guests of honor at Friday’s practice included legend Pat McAfee, Gary Brackett and 2022 Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson.
Injury Report: The following players did not appear to be participating at Friday’s practice: S-Julian Blackmon (hamstring), CB-JuJu Brents (hamstring), DE-Samson Ebukam (hamstring).The following players remain on the PUP or non-football injury list: RB-Jonathan Taylor (ankle), TE-Will Mallory (foot), DL-Tyquan Lewis (knee).
2023 Colts Training Camp Schedule
-7/29 (Saturday): 6:00-7:30 PM practice, SOLD OUT
-7/31 (Monday): 10:00-11:15 AM practice
-8/1 (Tuesday): 10:00-11:30 AM practice
-8/3 (Thursday): 9:00-10:45 AM practice
-8/5 (Saturday): 6:00-7:30 PM practice
-8/6 (Sunday): 2:00-3:45 PM practice
-8/8 (Tuesday): 9:00-10:30 AM practice
-8/10 (Thursday): 10:00-11:00 AM practice
-8/12 (Saturday): 1st preseason game at Buffalo (1:00)
-8/15 (Tuesday): 9:00-10:00 AM practice
-8/16 (Wednesday joint practices with Bears): 6:00-8:00 PM practice, SOLD OUT
-8/17 (Thursday joint practices with Bears): 6:00-8:00 PM practice, SOLD OUT
