The Colts aren’t locking themselves into one linebacker pairing just yet, and Chris Ballard made it clear that the rotation could keep rolling once the regular season starts.
Akeem Davis-Gaither was the steady presence through much of training camp, but Indianapolis kept mixing and matching around him. In preseason action, Jaylon Carlies and Austin Ajiake were often paired together, while CJ Allen and Bryce Boettcher also got early work.
Ballard said that kind of usage is likely to continue.
"I think you'll see that a lot," Ballard said of rotating at the linebacker position. "I think it's an evolving position in the league a little bit, where you're seeing a little more situational from team to team. I think you'll see that with the group as the guys continue to grow and become who they can be."
The most likely setup, at least early, appears to be Allen alongside Davis-Gaither in run-heavy or early-down situations, with Carlies taking over in more obvious passing spots.
Indianapolis has been especially high on Allen, but the rookie missed a significant chunk of the summer because of injury. That makes a lighter early workload feel like the natural move as he gets up to speed with the playbook and adjusts to NFL competition.
Ballard also described the broader league trend the same way, pointing to how linebackers are being deployed more by situation than by fixed roles.
"I think you're seeing more where certain guys are (rotated), especially on third down; they're coming in coverage situations," Ballard said when generally speaking about the linebacker position league-wide. "So I do think you're seeing a little more than that. ... You got to with these young guys let them grow and get better."
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