D'Joun Smith suffered setback in recovery from knee injury, still expected back by training camp

As the Colts near the end of their offseason workout program, there are a handful of players who haven't really practiced much (if at all). Some of them, like Henry Anderson and Art Jones, were expected. Donte Moncrief and Hugh Thornton have also been rehabbing injuries, too, as has cornerback D'Joun Smith.

It was unclear why Smith has missed the entire offseason program, though most expected it had to do with the knee injury that plagued him for most of his rookie year. Colts head coach Chuck Pagano confirmed tonight that the knee issue is indeed the injury that has kept Smith out, and Pagano also acknowledged that Smith had a bit of a setback in his recovery, according to Colts.com's Kevin Bowen. With that said, the expectation is still for Smith to be back by the start of training camp.

Drafted in the third round last year, Smith only played four games last year as he struggled through injuries. He was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return near the beginning of the season, and when he did return he played in a couple of games before once again going on IR with the knee issue once again. It's somewhat concerning that the knee is still an issue and is still causing him to miss time, but it's good news that he's expected back by camp.

Smith should be competing for significant playing time, as he could be battling for time with Darius Butler for reps as the number three corner. Either way, Smith figures to be very much in the mix at corner as one of the top four at the position, though missing most of his rookie season and then most of this offseason's work certainly won't help things much. Hopefully, he can get fully healthy and compete in training camp.