FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Colts quarterback Daniel Jones wasn’t always able to trust his receivers to get open in Tuesday’s joint practice against New England.
Even with the Patriots’ top two cornerbacks, Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, standing on the sidelines, there were often times when Jones had to hold the ball and wait for receivers to get open, particularly in the red zone.
But he always has Tyler Warren there to save the day.
When Jones needed a completion Tuesday, he often looked for the second-year tight end, a bruising, physical force who gave the Patriots’ secondary trouble all day long. Indianapolis and New England finished Tuesday’s joint practice by putting the No. 1 and No. 2 offenses for each team into a critical end-of-game situation — 1:12 on the clock, an entire field to drive, in need of a touchdown.
Jones beat the blitz by hitting Warren up the seam on his first throw, then picked up a big chunk by finding Warren coming free over the middle and launched a ball deep for Warren in contested coverage. Warren went up, beat the safety and pulled the ball down at the 5-yard line.
Josh Downs beat Patriots slot cornerback Marcus Jones to the pylon for a touchdown two plays later.
Warren gave New England’s secondary trouble throughout the practice. Jones completed 12 of 20 passes, according to an unofficial count by IndyStar; six went to Warren, who repeatedly fought defenders off his back to make catches with players draped all over him.
Last laugh
Downs was simply happy to be on the field.
The team’s slot receiver missed both of the team’s practices over the weekend due to a minor groin injury, leaving his status for the practice somewhat up in the air.
He was healthy and ready to go Tuesday, setting up a good battle with Marcus Jones, a highly regarded nickel who made his reputation during New England’s run to the Super Bowl last season.
“You never like to miss days and make people get a little worried about what’s going on, but the trainers did a good job,” Downs said.
Downs ended up with five catches of his own in 11-on-11 drills, along with a couple more in 7-on-7. When he made the final play, leaving Marcus Jones behind him with an out cut to the sideline, Downs turned and talked a little trash to his opponent, prompting Marcus Jones to get up into the slot receiver’s face and start jawing.
Referees on the field flagged Downs for taunting, but it’s not something that should be an issue in the regular season. Downs was simply engaging in a little back-and-forth.
“That’s my bad, I didn’t know the whole situation,” Downs said. “We had some friendly trash talk going on during practice, that was what that was about. We dapped it up afterward, it was all good.”
Ground game
The Indianapolis running game got off to a slow start.
The Colts pounded away in the first half of the practice, but the tandem of Jonathan Taylor and Seth McGowan were often met at the line by an aggressive Patriots defense. Taylor, in particular, was bottled up in the first few 11-on-11 periods, sometimes hit in the backfield before he had a chance to get to the hole.
When the practice moved into the red zone after the first special teams period, the Indianapolis running game started to assert itself.
Taylor broke free for a touchdown run up the left sideline on the first play of the red-zone period, then followed that with a series of patient runs to pick up big yardage, one of his trademarks.
McGowan put his power on display, burrowing through the middle for a handful of big gains, and Ulysses Bentley IV scored a touchdown of his own with the No. 2 offense, breaking through a slow-developing hole on the right side and running away for a touchdown to the right.
Backup battle
Riley Leonard appeared to get a little more work than Anthony Richardson, perhaps because Richardson will start Thursday night’s preseason game against the Patriots and play the entire first half.
Leonard started off hot. After taking a sack on his first play, Leonard completed his first nine passes in 11-pn-11 drills, firing a lot of short, quick throws.
The 2025 sixth-round pick was also given the chance to lead the No. 2 offense in a two-minute drill that was far too choppy. Leonard completed four of his first six passes on the drive, including a “gotta have it” throw to tight end Will Mallory on third-and-long to get Indianapolis into striking distance.
Unfortunately, the No. 2 offense wasn’t able to finish the drive the same way. Flagged three times on the drive, including twice for false starts, the Colts put Leonard in a position where he had to take chances, and after an off-balance try for Mallory fell incomplete, Leonard threw late and over the middle, and after the ball was tipped a couple of times, Patriots safety John Saunders picked it off to end the drive and the practice.
Richardson completed 5 of 8 passes, and he largely looked decisive, making the most of his snaps. When he got to 7-on-7—a drill where he got more repetitions than Leonard — Richardson was accurate, including a gorgeous lofted touchdown to Bentley, who continues to make plays in the passing game.
Kicking competition
Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader faced a stiff test Tuesday in the form of a heavy wind that whipped across the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
Both Colts kickers were given four kicks. Both Grupe and Shrader made three of four kicks, their final offerings from 57 yards at the mercy of the wind. While Grupe started his final kick left, Shrader’s last offering looked like a solid strike of the ball, only to get to the top of its arc and get blown hard to the left by the wind.
Roll call
Downs (groin), strong safety Hunter Wohler (hamstring) and veteran wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (hamstring) returned to the field.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who stayed in Indianapolis to rehabilitate a back injury, did not make the trip. Rookie middle linebacker CJ Allen (hamstring) and running back DJ Giddens (hamstring) remain out of action due to their hamstring injuries.
Wide receiver Alec Pierce remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from offseason surgery to clean up his ankle. Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard told reporters before the start of the practice that Indianapolis is still planning for Pierce to be ready for the start of the season.
Quick hitters
Mallory is clearly a solid receiving target at tight end. Used mostly as insurance for Warren last season, Mallory is putting together a good camp, and he had four catches in 11-on-11. … Rookie wide receiver Deion Burks made a few plays, but he was also upended by Patriots defensive back Karon Prunty. … Dalton Tucker took snaps at center again. Indianapolis continues to look for a backup to Tanor Bortolini. … Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has struggled to keep his momentum from the open week going. The veteran dropped a throw from Richardson.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts TE Tyler Warren saves offense vs Patriots in joint practice
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
