The Indianapolis Colts took to the fields at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind. for the final time of training camp on Thursday, capping off a week of two joint practices with the Arizona Cardinals.
The day was dictated by the pouring rain, which was persistent for the majority of the hour-and-half practice. As would be expected, ball security and footing was a bit of an issue.
Here are Horseshoe Huddle's observations throughout the evening.
TEAM
— Running back Trey Sermon (hamstring), wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring), linebackers Cameron McGrone and Liam Anderson all missed Thursday's practice. Defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (Active/Non-Football Illness, high blood pressure) remains out.
— The teams did wide receiver vs. cornerback 1-on-1s on Thursday, working from the defense's 15-yard line. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson promptly hit touchdowns to Michael Pittman Jr., who wrapped around the defender to come down with the catch in the back corner of the end zone, as well as rookies Anthony Gould and AD Mitchell. D.J. Montgomery, Juwann Winfree, Derek Slywka, and Greg Ward all had scores as well.
OFFENSE
— Richardson had a rocky day through much of practice due to the weather, going 2-of-5 passing (40%), but when the two-minute drills began at the end of practice, he flipped a switch. Richardson was 2-of-3 on the final drive, connecting with Pittman and Mitchell, and getting a big defensive pass interference call to Pierce that brought them into the low red zone. From there, Richardson ran the ball in from 7 yards out. For the second day in a row, the Colts' first-team offense scored on the two-minute drill at the end of practice within six plays.
— Not all receivers handled the wet conditions well, but Pierce and Winfree both had solid days. Pierce caught a pair of touchdowns from Richardson during 7-on-7s in the red zone, and Winfree made a pair of difficult catches in the end zone for scores from Flacco.
DEFENSE
— The Colts' first and second-team defenses shut the Cardinals' first and second-team offenses down all four times that they attempted their two-minute drives. One of the second-team defenses stops concluded with an interception by cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. on Cardinals backup QB Clayton Tune.
— For the second consecutive day, Colts linemen Laiatu Latu and DeForest Buckner were essentially unblockable. Latu registered at least one would-be sack of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray while both he and Buckner relentlessly pressured the backfield.
— It was a bounce-back day for Colts cornerback JuJu Brents, who struggled Wednesday but was much stickier in coverage on Thursday. He even got a pass breakup on Murray during 7-on-7s. Fellow starting corner Kenny Moore II made a big play as well, intercepting Murray during 7-on-7s. Third starting corner Jaylon Jones had a rough day, however, as Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was able to successfully make some plays on him.
The Colts will now have one final training camp practice next week in Ohio against the Cincinnati Bengals before the two teams conclude the preseason on Thursday night.
