The Colts have given DeForest Buckner fans something to feel good about heading into training camp: he is not on the physically unable to perform list.
That matters, even if the camp version of PUP works a little differently than the regular-season one. In training camp, a player can come off the list at any point and jump right back into practice.
So Buckner’s absence from it is a positive sign, not a reason for alarm. Wide receiver Alec Pierce was placed on PUP as well, but he, too, can return whenever the team decides he’s ready.
Buckner missed time last season after suffering a neck injury in Week 9. He came back for part of one more game, then sat out the rest of the year.
For Indianapolis, that was a huge loss. He is easily the team’s best player at his position, and the Colts would feel his absence more than they would most players at theirs.
Of course, neck injuries are not something to shrug off. Buckner’s health has to come first, both now and down the road. The concern isn’t just about 2026 training camp or the regular season ahead - it’s about his long-term future, too.
The injury in 2025 was a herniated disc, the kind of issue that can be aggravated in a collision sport. At 32, Buckner is also at a stage where every season comes with bigger questions. He has already earned generational wealth in the NFL, and it’s fair to wonder how long he wants to keep putting his body through this.
If he wants to keep playing, though, that decision should be his. And if he chooses to walk away after this season, nobody would blame him.
He could also decide to keep going for a few more years. Either way, the neck concerns are real.
There’s also the contract piece. Buckner has one year left on his current Colts deal.
If Indianapolis doesn’t re-sign him, he’ll be 33 next year and set to hit free agency. For now, though, the key takeaway is simple: he’s not starting camp on PUP, and that’s a welcome update for Colts fans.
In Other News...
Colts May Have Found Their Answer In The Middle Of Defense
The Colts defense is already looking ahead to 2026, and one of the more intriguing names in that conversation is rookie linebacker CJ Allen. A second-round pick out of Georgia, Allen arrives with the kind of pedigree that can fast-track a young defender into real responsibility, especially when a team is trying to identify who can grow into a central role in the middle of the field.
What makes Allen worth watching is not just the draft slot, but the way Indianapolis seems positioned to lean on him sooner rather than later. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has already shown confidence in the rookie, and that matters for a unit looking for stability and leadership in the middle. The Colts may not be ready to hand him the whole job yet, but the opening is there, and Allen has the profile to turn it into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
The Voices Behind Philip Rivers' Colts Return Will Surprise Fans
When Daniel Jones went down with an Achilles injury in Week 14, the Colts suddenly needed a veteran answer, and Philip Rivers emerged as the unexpected one. The move brought Rivers back out of retirement after a five-year layoff, and it also reconnected him with familiar voices in Shane Steichen and Frank Reich, two coaches who knew him well from his Chargers days and helped shape the conversation around whether a comeback made sense.
Rivers ultimately took the ball for three games against playoff teams and kept Indianapolis in the fight more often than not, which made the late-season detour feel more like a real football decision than a nostalgia play. Even without a postseason trip, the return added another strange and memorable chapter to a quarterback career that seemed finished, then suddenly was not, and it left plenty of room to wonder what the next step might be. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Decision On Kenny Moore II Suddenly Looks Very Different
When the Colts moved on from Kenny Moore II, it was framed as part of a broader reset in the secondary, a chance to get younger, cheaper and more flexible on defense. The decision also cleared nearly $10 million in cap space, but it came with a clear football cost: Moore was still one of the more proven nickelbacks in the league, with Pro Bowl credentials and years of experience in a role that has become central to how Indianapolis wants to play.
Now the Colts are proceeding without him, and the early plan says a lot about how much theyre asking of the next wave. Justin Walley and Austin Brown are expected to handle most of the nickel work, with rookie A.J. Haulcy and Cam Bynum also rotating in. That is a very different look from the one Moore provided, and it leaves the Colts betting that their revamped approach can hold up even as one of the more familiar pieces of the defense remains on the outside looking in. [Read more 🡒]