Colts expect Arthur Jones to be ready for start of training camp

While the offensive line has been the focal point for the Colts this offseason, their defensive line looks to have a lot of potential moving forward as well. Last year, the unit was actually better than expected, and the hope is that it could be even better this year.

A lot of that, however, depends on health. Henry Anderson suffered a torn ACL in week nine that cost him his season, and the Colts haven't yet put a timetable on when he might return. He probably won't be ready for training camp, but the situation is still unclear and the Colts haven't yet established a timetable (at least not publicly).

That's not the case with Arthur Jones, however. Jones missed the entire regular season last year with an ankle injury, and head coach Chuck Pagano established the timetable for him in today's press conference: training camp. The hope, according to Pagano, is that Jones will be out there ready to go when the team starts camp later this summer.

We don't yet know the exact start date for the Colts in camp (though we have a general idea) nor do we know details of Jones' recovery, but Pagano's comments are encouraging. It doesn't mean that Jones will definitely be back by that point, but it does mean that the Colts are comfortable enough that it could happen that they're willing to say it publicly - something they haven't been willing to do with Anderson.

This will be a huge season for Jones, who has struggled to stay on the field since signing with the Colts in 2014. In his first year with the team, he suffered an ankle injury in just the second game that forced him to miss extended time. He returned near the end of the year and still managed to play in twelve games and start six (including playoffs), but it was essentially a lost season for him as he spent the bulk of it recovering from injury. The hope was that 2015 would be better, but in fact it wound up being worse as Jones suffered an ankle injury in preseason that cost him his season. He took a paycut this offseason to stay with the team, and if he stays healthy he could be a huge boost to the defensive line. He has a lot to prove this year, and so it's good news that he's expected to be ready to go by the start of training camp.