Injury updates on Art Jones, Donte Moncrief as Colts training camp begins

The Indianapolis Colts reported to Anderson University for training camp today, though they won’t get on the practice field until tomorrow. Furthermore, head coach Chuck Pagano won’t address the media until tomorrow either, so it’s entirely possible that we won’t get an injury update until then. Of course, with camp starting the most notable injury update is the PUP (physically unable to perform) list, and there are a number of Colts who will be candidates to open camp on that list - including Henry Anderson, Arthur Jones, and others. While we didn’t get any sort of official injury update today, we could piece together a couple of things from our conversations with players and coaches, particularly involving Art Jones and Donte Moncrief.

Arthur Jones

Jones missed the entire 2015 season with an ankle injury suffered during the preseason last year and he missed the offseason program this year as he recovered. It’s unclear when he’ll be back, but we got an update today. For his part, Jones said that he feels great - though it’s important to note that he followed that up by saying that he’s been spending time with the doctors and trainers. The latter part of that statement seemed to suggest that he might not be fully ready, but nonetheless there was a good level of optimism.

Later in the morning, defensive coordinator Ted Monachino spoke with the media and sounded much less optimistic.

“We would love to have him out there and have him contribute to our defense as soon as possible,” Monachino said, “but right now we’re in a mode where he just has to get as far down the road as he can health-wise and get back to the point where he’s practicing full-speed and practicing with us everyday.”

That doesn’t exactly sound like a guy who’s ready to go right, and it certainly doesn’t echo the level of optimism we heard from Jones. We’ll find out much more tomorrow, but based on Monachino’s comments I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Art Jones begins camp on the PUP list.

Donte Moncrief

Wide receiver Donte Moncrief missed the offseason program with a toe injury, but he says that he’s good to go now and that his toe is healed.

“I’m healthy right now, man,” Moncrief said. “I’m ready to go. My toe is back right, so I’m just ready to go out there and run and see how I feel to get out there with my boys.”

Moncrief added that he was frustrated in the offseason when he was watching practice but couldn’t participate due to the boot on his foot.

“Aw, man, it used to kill me everyday,” he said. “Everyday I went out there and I saw them go and I’m out there with that boot on, I just wanted to rip it off. But I’m here now.”

And just in case you needed confirmation that he’s not in the boot anymore, here’s a picture of his feet - complete with Donte Moncrief socks.

Andrew Luck

This one’s a bonus, because Andrew Luck really shouldn’t be considered among the injured players anymore. He’s been healthy all offseason and had zero limitations during offseason workouts, but because he’s such a high profile player, it’s worth repeating again. “100%,” Luck said today when asked how healthy he is - and he means it. Luck is healthy as the Colts begin camp, and the job of the offensive line - and Luck himself - is to make sure it stays that way.