Colts' JuJu Brents Fighting for Spot in Make-or-Break Training Camp

Brents missed all of the Colts' spring practices in 2023 due to his wrist injury, but he was back on the field for training camp at the end of July. His return to the field was short-lived, however, as he went down with a hamstring injury relatively early into the Colts' summer practices. That injury caused him to miss the team's first two games of the season, but he made his first career start upon returning from that setback.

Unfortunately for Brents, the setbacks would keep popping up in his rookie season. He suffered a quadriceps injury that caused him to miss six additional games, and another hamstring injury led to him missing the season finale in 2023. He managed to appear in just nine games as a rookie, and he was vastly out-snapped by fellow rookie cornerback Jaylon Jones on the season.

Heading into 2024, Brents hoped to turn the corner after an injury-plagued rookie season. He made it through training camp with a few bumps and bruises, but he started the first game of the season against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, he would go on to tear his MCL in that game, knocking him out of the lineup all the way until Week 18 of the season. He would finish his sophomore season with just two total games played.

Through two seasons in the NFL, Brents has dealt with multiple hamstring injuries, a wrist injury, a torn MCL, a quadriceps injury, a broken nose, and an undisclosed shoulder injury early last offseason. He has been limited to just 11 of 34 possible games in his career, and now the Colts have added more talent to the cornerback room. Heading into his third season in the league, Brents is no longer the unquestioned starter on the outside for the Colts.

To make matters worse, the defensive coaching staff that played a big role in drafting Brents is no longer with the Colts. Lou Anarumo and his new defensive group value big, speedy cornerbacks on the outside and ask a lot of their players in the open field. Brents has fantastic size and length, but his long speed could be a bit of a question for the new regime on defense.

The Brents story to this point has been mostly doom and gloom, and it's tough for a player to survive in an unforgiving league with his recent injury history. The lone bright spot for him is that the Colts are a relatively charitable organization when it comes to players with injuries, and Chris Ballard has shown patience in the past with his young players. Maybe a factor in Brents' constant recurring injuries is the weight of expectations on him to be that number one guy whenever he is healthy.

As Brents enters year three, he is no longer counted on to be the top guy. While that can be a scary situation for a player, it can also be a freeing feeling. Instead of, potentially, rushing back on the field to help a shorthanded unit, Brents can purely focus on his game and learn from a player like Charvarius Ward this offseason. The talent is absolutely there with Brents, so maybe he just needs this type of step back to really figure things out and stay healthy in the NFL.

As players age in the NFL and gain experience, the expectations change for them. Brents was once thought of as the Colts' unquestioned starter on the outside, and now, just two years later, he is potentially fighting for his life in training camp. He needs to prove to this new coaching staff that he can stay healthy and be a productive member of the secondary, or this new staff may choose one of the many players they brought in this offseason to supplant him.

Overall, the panic meter should certainly be up on Brents, and it is on him to have a productive offseason, but he still has a chance to turn things around in his career. If he can put together a strong, and healthy, preseason, he can still earn a significant role on this defense going forward.