The Colts’ preseason schedule is down to the part where every snap starts to matter a little more, especially for the players living on the edge of the roster. After wrapping 2026 training camp with joint practices against the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis now gets a real game to sort through some of the remaining questions on Saturday.
The final camp sessions sounded encouraging enough. The Colts finished with a pair of game-winning field goals on offense and a pair of defensive stops in two-minute drills against Atlanta, which at least suggests the work has translated into something tangible. But with camp officially in the books, the margin for players fighting for the back end of the roster is shrinking fast.
That’s where this preseason game gets interesting. In a roster projection that has 44 spots locked in and five more basically settled, there are only four spots still open among the 41 players chasing a job. So the focus shifts from camp buzz to actual proof on the field.
One of the biggest names to watch is rookie linebacker CJ Allen, who has had a stop-start summer because of two separate injuries. That made it tough for him to fully lock down a starting role, even though he remains in the mix to open Week 1 next to Akeem Davis-Gaither.
Allen missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury, but he should finally be in uniform for the Colts in this one. He’s obviously going to make the roster, but this debut will still tell a lot about where the Colts’ top pick from the 2026 draft stands.
Another major test belongs to offensive tackle Blake Freeland. His spot looked shaky after a rough showing against the New England Patriots, when he allowed two bad pressures, but Luke Tenuta’s injury may have reopened the door.
That matters because the Colts are stretched thin at tackle right now. Tenuta and rookie Nolan Rucci have both missed the last week of practice, and Bayron Matos was recently waived.
At this point, the swing tackle job could end up being Freeland’s to lose, or it could go to an outside addition after cutdowns.
The backfield is just as unsettled. Jonathan Taylor is unlikely to play, Ulysses Bentley IV left practice early on Thursday, Roydell Williams was waived recently, and DJ Giddens is still working back from a hamstring injury.
If Bentley can’t go, that leaves Seth McGowan and Anderson Castle as the only available running backs for this game. McGowan seems to have the edge for the RB2 role, but the RB3 spot still feels very much alive.
Bentley had been gaining ground, yet his injury could open the door for Castle to make a push.
The sixth and final receiver spot might be the most intriguing battle of all. Keenan Allen’s arrival tightened the room, and that last opening appears to be a special teams decision as much as a receiver decision.
Deion Burks, Coleman Owen, and Anthony Gould are the main names in the mix. Gould has been around for the last three seasons but hasn’t really made his case.
Burks brings eye-catching physical tools, but he’s the least proven option on special teams. Owen may be the best punt returner of the group, though he has the least investment behind him.
At the moment, Owen seems like the slight favorite, but this one is still wide open.
There’s also some buzz around the Colts’ rookie edge rushers, Caden Curry and George Gumbs Jr. Both were excellent in their preseason debuts last week, though most of that damage came against the Patriots’ third- and fourth-team offense.
That’s been the level they’ve mostly worked against in practice too. The next step is simple: do it against better competition, and they could force their way into real consideration for this season.
In Other News...
Simone Biles Turned Falcons-Colts Into A Sideline Talking Point
Simone Biles was back on an NFL sideline Friday night, taking in the Colts preseason game against the Falcons to support her husband, safety Jonathan Owens. Owens, who signed a one-year deal with Indianapolis in March, got into the action and finished with a tackle, while Biles' presence gave the game an added spotlight beyond the usual preseason crowd.
For the Colts, it was another reminder that Owens arrives with some attention attached, not just because of his own role in the secondary but because of who is often watching from the stands. Biles has become a familiar face around NFL venues since recovering from a serious health emergency, and her appearances have turned into a small but notable sideline subplot wherever Owens is playing. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Left Preseason Week 2 With 3 Big Roster Questions
The Colts left their second preseason game with more questions than answers in a few spots that matter most when the games start counting. Linebacker remains a point of attention, with Akeem Davis-Gaither expected to start, but the identity of the player beside him still unsettled. Up front, the pass rush did not do much to clear up the picture either, with the defense finishing with only one sack and one quarterback hit.
There is also a real conversation developing behind the starter at quarterback, where Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson have both had their issues throwing the ball. The contrast between them is in how they play, not in how clean the passing game has looked so far, and that leaves the Colts weighing style against production as they sort through the backup job. By the end of preseason Week 2, the most important battles on the roster still felt very much open. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Richardson Puts Colts Protection Debate Right Back In Focus
Anthony Richardsons preseason tape has already pushed the Colts protection discussion back to the front of the room. A controversial snap in Baltimore and a later interception in New England offered a quick look at how Indianapolis is trying to sort out its pass protection, and how much of that burden Richardson may be asked to carry as he grows into the job. The lines setup, the way the schemes were adjusted, and Richardsons own choices all showed up in those moments.
The bigger question is how much freedom Richardson will have to direct things at the line, because the Colts appeared to change their protection approach between the two plays. One snap pointed to the growing importance of his ability to identify pressure and set the slide, while the other showed how quickly a small breakdown can snowball into a turnover. For a young quarterback still learning the edges of NFL defenses, it is the kind of detail the Colts have to get right before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]