The Indianapolis Colts have released their first injury report of the 2017 NFL season. The following players are included on the list as not participating in practice: QB Andrew Luck, WR Chester Rogers, C Ryan Kelly, G Ian Silberman, and CB Vontae Davis.
I know some have been asking about Luck and whether he has been practicing. This confirms that he is not currently practicing with the team and the media confirmed from practice that he was not seen taking reps with the offense. Tolzien and Brissett were the only quarterbacks participating in practice.
The Colts had hoped the Chester Rogers would return to practice today but he was held out again. Unless he returns to practice tomorrow, he will likely be either limited or out against the Rams on Sunday.
One player with some good news is that Malik Hooker confirmed that he has been full go at practice for two weeks. This indicates that he will be healthy on Sunday and likely will be utilized heavily. This is a big positive for the Colts secondary and for Hooker’s development.
Starting right tackle Denzelle Good also expressed excitement that he was getting an opportunity to both start and move back outside to tackle. He said that he feels more at home on the outside and confirmed that he lost 20 pounds over the summer to enter training camp more agile than he was a season ago.
Those who were not on the injury report are also notable. T.J. Green was a full go for practice, Johnathan Hankins was absent from the list, Henry Anderson was not listed and continues his return to full health and hopefully a return to the promise he showed as a rookie, Jon Bostic was a full participant in practice after being limited for much of the preseason, and Jack Mewhort returned to practice again today.
With regard to the starting quarterback situation for the Rams, Head Coach Chuck Pagano confirmed that they were going with Tolzien due to his familiarity with the offense at this time. He also seemed to indicate that he was viewed as more of a game manager due to his experience.
With regard to the offensive line, Pagano called Deyshawn Bond one of the most consistent performers of the training camp and preseason. Pagano also referred to Joe Haeg as the “6th man,” leaving some to wonder whether Haeg is not currently 100 percent after the burner he sustained during training camp. If that is the case, it could explain why he is not currently starting.
It is also worth noting that Pagano said the starting offensive line on the depth chart is “who started against Cincinnati” and who practiced together leading up to the game last week.
We played the last game with that lineup and we practiced that way the last couple days of training camp leading up to that Cincy game. Again, we’ve got a bunch of guys that can play a bunch of different spots and we’re just still trying to find number one, the starting five and then number two, the best spots and put those guys in position to where we can function as an offense and play to their strengths and those types of things.
Pagano was also asked about Zach Banner getting cut:
We had a bunch of tough decisions to make and Zach was part of one of those tough decisions. This whole thing is about coming to work every single day and earning your way and earning a spot and competing. Again, it was a tough, tough decision. There’s a guy that’s got a lot of talent and a lot of upside, but it was a competitive camp and it was a competitive room.
The Colts also officially announced the move of training camp to the Westfield Grand Park sports complex for 2018. The team signed a 10-year deal with the complex for it to be the host of future training camps.
This is great news for the fans who were unable to have the kind of access to the team that they have enjoyed during training camp in previous years. It might also make it a bit easier for some Stampede Blue staff to cover training camp live, as has been the norm in years past.