Clyde’s Colts recap didn’t come with a clean broadcast, but it did come with a few clear takeaways.
The most obvious one: Friday night did not look like the kind of preseason game where jobs were won in a big way. If anything, one player may have put himself in a tougher spot.
CB Edwards stood out for the wrong reasons, and in a preseason setting, getting targeted is never a great sign. Jaylon Jones, by contrast, looked like the safer bet.
There were a couple of things worth liking on the defensive side, starting with the way some pass rushers were used. Curry and Gumbs both worked from a standing position, which suggests the staff may be trying to tap into some natural instincts in situational roles.
Both avoided giving away the edge, though they also looked a little hesitant when it came to backside pursuit. That caution may have been intentional, but it still made the pressure look less aggressive than it could have been.
The defense also seemed a bit better in the middle of the field. Not flawless, and not against the top units, but better than what has shown up recently.
Boettcher looked active, while Wohlers again raised the same old question about whether he can stay on the field. The issue, at least from this view, seemed to be either technique or something even harder to explain.
On offense, the screen game was a positive. Those calls felt like a response to the way defenses played the Colts after Pittsburgh, and the hope is that it can become more than a one-night wrinkle.
The group has struggled there for a while, but this at least hinted that they may be onto something. The real test, though, will come when defenses start bringing blitzes for real.
AR’s night was more of the same. He looked better running than throwing, and the turnovers were impossible to ignore.
He committed two turnovers and the Colts were down 7 points at halftime, which is hard to dress up no matter how you slice it. The argument for him is that packages and gadgets could give him a useful role.
If he is not open to that, the idea would be to tell him he is the 3rd string QB and that he’d remain a Colt until free agency next year. The thought here is that he could be useful as a late-game runner and perhaps develop into a cheap backup down the line.
There was also reason to think the team has enough at receiver. The top six WRs were out, Warren was out too, and the players who were targeted appeared to answer the call. That was one of the cleaner parts of the night.
Up front, Freeland earned credit for handling the full game. The line did not look like a weakness, even with only Travis getting a few snaps among the first-team depth. The Colts did not consistently blow open run lanes, but the pocket stayed clean enough, and the group appeared to do a solid job selling the screens.
In Other News...
Colts Face A Costly Anthony Richardson Decision At Quarterback
Anthony Richardsons future has become one of the more awkward roster questions hanging over the Colts as they settle in with Daniel Jones as their starter and Richardson sitting behind him on the depth chart. Once a first-round pick in 2023, Richardson has not delivered the kind of early return that usually makes a franchise comfortable picking a direction and moving on, which is why his name has lingered in trade conversation even as the team tries to stabilize the quarterback spot.
The wrinkle now is that Indianapolis may be leaning toward keeping him instead of treating him as a movable asset, even with Richardson entering the final year of his rookie contract. A deal would not likely bring back a major haul, but it could still net the Colts a Day 3 pick, so the decision is less about simple quarterback depth and more about whether they value one more look at Richardson or prefer to cash in before the choice disappears. [Read more 🡒]
Colts May Be Wasting A Weapon Behind Tyler Warren
The Colts spent their offseason reshaping the tight end room around Tyler Warren, and the ripple effect has been hard to miss for Will Mallory. After Warren arrived and quickly established himself as the top pass-catching tight end, Mallorys offensive snap count fell sharply, even though he has continued to flash when given opportunities and has produced steadily in preseason work and game action.
Chris Ballard has already signaled that Mallorys role should not be treated as an afterthought, and there is a reason for that optimism. His blocking has taken a step forward, which gives Indianapolis more ways to deploy him, and theres a real possibility the Colts could get creative by pairing him with Warren instead of letting one crowd out the other. How much of that shows up once the games count is the part still worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Final Receiver Battle May Hinge On One Overlooked Role
With Alec Pierce and Josh Downs effectively set atop the receiver group, the Colts offseason attention has shifted to a deeper and more crowded part of the depth chart. The battle for the third wideout spot features a mix of experience and upside, with Ashton Dulin, Laquan Treadwell, Anthony Gould, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Coleman Owen and rookie Deion Burks all trying to carve out a place in a room that still has room for one more meaningful contributor.
What makes this race especially tricky is that it is not just about route-running or camp production. For players like Gould, Owen and Burks, the path onto the 53-man roster may be tied just as much to special teams value as to their work on offense, and that kind of versatility can separate a fringe receiver from a player the Colts decide they need to keep around. In a competition this tight, the back end of the roster may end up being decided by a role that often gets overlooked until it becomes the difference between staying and going. [Read more 🡒]