INDIANAPOLIS – The next edition of the Indianapolis Colts will be unveiled for the first time Thursday morning at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.
It bears a striking resemblance to the last edition.
For the first time in memory – perhaps ever? – all 22 starters and special teams unit return. That’s unheard of during today’s nomadic NFL but it was assured when general manager Chris Ballard focused his offseason attention on retaining and/or extending more than a dozen of his own.
The 2023 version overcame a lot – most notably rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in week 5 – but still came up short.
Let’s not rehash that failed fourth-and-1 at the Houston 15 with 1:06 remaining and the Colts trailing 23-17 in the win-or-else week 18 showdown at Lucas Oil Stadium that would determine whether Indy won the AFC South for the first time since 2014 or finish 9-8 and once again head into an uncertain offseason and . . .
Ok, let’s move on.
And that brings us to Thursday morning’s first training camp practice and the start of, well, that’s what training camp is all about.
Optimism is high and should be.
Everyone insists the franchise’s most influential right shoulder is fine. Most believe the pairing of Richardson, Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. with a strong offensive line gives Shane Steichen the foundation for a productive offense.
The Colts appear to have top-level units along the offensive and defensive lines, although questions persist – and rightly so – regarding the secondary.
Four weeks in Grand Park, along with joint practices with the Arizona Cardinals (Aug. 14-15) and Cincinnati Bengals (Aug. 20), must reaffirm the sturdiness of Richardson’s shoulder and sort out the uncertainty at safety and cornerback.
Sit back and enjoy.
Here’s a look at the 90-player roster (*-denotes rookie).
QUARTERBACK
*Starter: Anthony Richardson.
*Backup: Joe Flacco.
*Depth: Sam Ehlinger, Kedon Slovis*, Jason Bean*.
*Comment: Our concerns regarding Richardson’s right shoulder will be erased when he’s out there every day. We remind everyone the camp schedule isn’t exactly daunting from a physical standpoint. Players don’t face any stretches of three straight days of full-go practices, so rehab time is built in. A healthy Richardson should elevate the Colts into a serious contender for the AFC South, and perhaps more. Flacco is a 39-yard-old security blanket.
RUNNING BACK
*Starter: Jonathan Taylor.
*Backup: Trey Sermon.
*Depth: Tyler Goodson, Evan Hull, Zavier Scott, Trent Pennix*.
*Comment: We’re expecting Taylor to resemble the game-breaker of 2021. Not necessarily 1,800 yards and 20-plus touchdowns, but someone capable of gashing a defense with every carry. If he averages 5.0-plus yards per attempt, the run game will be among the NFL’s best. Sermon probably succeeds Zack Moss as the No. 2, but we would have preferred a more proven backup. Sermon has rushed for more than 32 yards just twice in 25 career games. The coaching staff must balance Taylor’s every-down threat with keeping him as fresh as possible.
WIDE RECEIVER
*Starters: Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs.
*Depth: Ashton Dulin, Adonai Mitchell*, Anthony Gould*, D.J. Montgomery, Tyrie Cleveland, Juwann Winfree, Ethan Fernea, Xavier White*, Derek Slywka*.
*Comment: We like this group. Pittman brings stability and productivity at the top, and we’re very interested to learn if a bigger arm at quarterback translates into a deeper aspect of his game. Downs is coming off a record-setting rookie season and should take a big step in year 2. The camp competition between Pierce and Mitchell to determine who’ll be the primary deep threat should be intense.
TIGHT END
*Starters: Mo Alie-Cox, Jelani Woods.
*Backups: Kylen Granson, Will Mallory, Drew Ogletree, Jordan Murray, Eric Tomlinson.
*Comment: Another area that must sort out is its depth chart. Woods has the potential to be the focal point, but he last played on Jan. 8, 2023 – the final game of ’22. Hamstring issues kept him out of last season. He has the size (6-7, 253) and speed to do damage down the field, especially if defenses are focused on Pittman, Downs, Pierce/Mitchell and Taylor. Also, Mallory showed promise as a rookie last season (11.5 yards on 18 catches).
Alie-Cox remains the most trusted in-line blocker, and he’s always good for a couple of TDs. Can Granson do enough to stick? How about Ogletree?
We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Alie-Cox, 30, is heading into his seventh season and is in the final year of a contract paying him nearly $6 million. The team will save $5.9 million against the cap and would suffer zero dead money by releasing him.
Gonna be interesting.
OFFENSIVE LINE
*Starting tackles: Bernhard Raimann, Braden Smith.
*Tackle depth: Blake Freeland, Matt Goncalves*, Jake Witt.
*Starting interior: LG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly, RG Will Fries.
*Interior depth: Danny Pinter, Josh Sills, Wesley French, Arlington Hambright, Lewis Kidd, Tanor Bortolini*, Dalton Tucker*.
*Comment: This is another area teeming with optimism. The starting unit returns intact after a solid 2023, and the April draft addressed depth with Goncalves (round 3) and Bortolini (round 4). The main question: How quickly does Smith regain his form following offseason knee surgery? Smith and Raimann form one of the NFL’s top tackle tandems.
Another question: Who is the primary backup for Raimann? Is it Freeland, who was thrown into the deep end of the pool as a rookie and learned to swim? Maybe Goncalves? As we’ve seen too often in the past, the offense comes to a grinding halt if it doesn’t have a reliable left tackle.
DEFENSIVE LINE
*Starting ends: Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam.
*End depth: Laiatu Latu*, Dayo Odeyingbo, Tyquan Lewis, Isaiah Land, Titus Leo, Genard Avery.
*Starting tackles: DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart.
*Tackle depth: Raekwon Davis, Taven Bryan, Adetomiwa Adebawore, Eric Johnson II, Jonah Laulu*.
*Comment: Deep, deep, deep. End? Deep. Tackle? Deep. Coordinator Gus Bradley and first-year d-line coach Charlie Partridge have ample options and combinations to utilize. Buckner, 30, is heading into his 9th season, signed a two-year, $46 million extension that ties him to Indy through 2026 and shows zero signs of slowing down. Stewart, 30, is heading into year 8 and was retained with a three-year, $39 million contract. They simply form one of the NFL’s top interior d-line tandems.
The outside talent is as deep as ever with Latu, the 15th overall pick in the draft, joining Paye and Ebukam. We expect Latu to come off the bench, but the Colts will make liberal use of his pass-rush skills. Lewis also was re-signed and once again represents an invaluable interchangeable player.
Finally, is this the year Odeyingbo, the 2021 second-round pick, fully emerges? He, like virtually every member of the D-line, is coming off a career year with 8 sacks, nine tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits.
LINEBACKER
*Starters: Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed, Segun Olubi.
*Depth: Grant Stuard, Liam Anderson, Cameron McGrone, Austin Ajiake, Jaylon Carlies*, Craig Young*.
*Comment: The objective must be to develop the supporting cast behind Franklin and Speed. They’re a solid foundation. Franklin set the team tackle record in 2022 (166) and bumped it to 179 last season. The team rewarded the 235th pick in the 2018 draft with a three-year, $31.5 million contract. Franklin needs to find a way to include sacks and takeaways in his game. Speed is in the final year of his contract and could be among the next in line for a big payday. In his first year as a full-time starter in ’23, he responded with 100 tackles, 1 sack, 12 tackles for loss and three tackles for loss.
How quickly will Carlies be able to settle in as a linebacker? We’ll be paying attention.
CORNERBACK
*Outside starters: JuJu Brents, Jaylon Jones.
*Outside depth: Darrell Baker Jr., Dallis Flowers, Ameer Speed, Jaylin Simpson*, Clay Fields III*
*Nickel starter: Kenny Moore II.
*Nickel depth: Chris Lammons, Micah Abraham*.
*Comment: Ballard and Bradley are committed to positional growth coming from within. And with experience. With no outside veteran corner added, it’s up to Brents to stay on the field, Jones to build on his 10 starts as a rookie and Flowers to make a full recovery after tearing his Achilles in week 5.
We haven’t mentioned Moore because we know what to expect from him. He remains one of the NFL’s top nickels and was again rewarded with a nice contract (three years, $30 million).
SAFETY
*Starters: Julian Blackmon, Nick Cross.
*Depth: Ronnie Harrison Jr., Rodney Thomas II, Trevor Denbow, Michael Tutsie, Marcel Dabo, Kendall Brooks.
*Comment: It’s never too late for the Colts to sign a veteran, but they would have done so by now. Blackmon is a solid returnee at strong safety, but Cross must emerge as a reliable free safety. Often, he’s the last line of defense. If he falters, things open up for Thomas.
SPECIAL TEAMS
*Kickers: Matt Gay, Spencer Shrader*.
*Punter: Rigoberto Sanchez.
*Long snapper: Luke Rhodes.
*Return: Josh Downs, Dallis Flowers, Anthony Gould*.
*Comment: The new kickoff rules will be one of the more interesting camp stories. It will take several weeks (months?) for everyone to gain some level of comfort. But it’s reassuring to head into ’24 with a proven kicker (Gay) and punter (Sanchez). Gay’s accuracy took a hit last season – 80% after missing just four of 64 attempts (93.4%) the previous two seasons with the Rams – but he knocked down 8-of-13 from 50 and beyond.
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.