The Indianapolis Colts are heading into training camp on July 29 with a few injuries that are hard to shrug off.
That matters because this team has less than two months before the season kicks off, and the margin for error feels thin. If Indianapolis is going to be good enough to reach the postseason, it needs a healthier year than it got in 2025. Last season, the Colts lost their starting quarterback for the final stretch, Sauce Gardner was out for half the games with a calf issue that he could have been involved in, and their best defensive lineman was available for only one game in the second half of the season.
Now, several of the same concerns are still hanging around as camp opens.
Daniel Jones is the biggest one. The quarterback has been working toward Week 1 since he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14 last season, and by all accounts he has checked the boxes he needed to before camp.
Even so, it is still unclear whether he’ll be ready to go full speed when practices begin. He probably shouldn’t be rushed, and he definitely shouldn’t see preseason action.
The Colts can’t afford to mess around with his recovery.
DeForest Buckner is another name worth watching closely. He’s expected to get back into football activities at camp after dealing with a herniated disc in his neck in Week 9 last season.
He played one more game after that, then missed the rest of the year before undergoing surgery. Buckner is 32 now, and while he’s already accomplished plenty, the Colts still need to know how his neck holds up once the work ramps up again.
Alec Pierce is a more surprising concern. He played through an ankle issue in 2025 and still led the NFL in yards per catch for the second straight season, which made the injury seem minor at the time.
But the ankle eventually required surgery, and he still hasn’t returned to football activities. There’s real uncertainty about whether he’ll be ready when camp starts, which is a problem for a player who just signed a four-year deal worth as much as $116 million this offseason.
Then there’s Charvarius Ward, whose health situation has already been serious enough. He suffered three concussions in 2025, and a back issue is now the thing keeping him from being fully clear.
Ward is over 30, and back problems are never the kind of thing teams want to see linger. The hope is that he was simply being rested during organized team activities, but the Colts need him healthy if they’re going to be where they want to be.
For Indianapolis, these aren’t small training camp footnotes. They’re four situations that could shape how the season starts.
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