INDIANAPOLIS — Drawing any sweeping conclusions about a team after a preseason game like the one the Colts played Saturday is a mistake.
Nearly half of the guys who will be on the season-opening 53-man roster spent their day in team-issued street clothes on the sidelines, kept out of harm’s way by the coaching staff because they spent two days earlier in the week going toe-to-toe with the Falcons in joint practices, controlled workouts largely dominated by the Indianapolis starters.
Atlanta sat even more of its best players, preferring to hand Saturday’s game to a group of backups that shellacked the Colts 34-6 in a forgettable preseason performance for both sides.
A pivotal 2026 season in Indianapolis will largely be decided by the players who sat out Saturday’s ugly loss.
But the preseason beating the Colts took from Atlanta did reveal reason to worry, especially for a team that knows all too well the realities of injury in the NFL.
Buy Colts tickets
Linebacker
The Colts tried to overhaul their linebacker room last offseason.
Indianapolis wanted to get younger and faster at the position. With that in mind, the Colts said goodbye to veterans Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt in order to make room for CJ Allen and Bryce Boettcher, the two rookie linebackers Indianapolis selected among its top four picks in April.
But the overhaul has only led to uncertainty after the first two weeks of the preseason. Veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither, a low-cost investment at the position, was the only linebacker the Colts held out of Saturday’s game, the only defensive position on the team that didn’t sit multiple starters.
Davis-Gaither was signed to provide insurance, a high floor for a linebacker group relying on unproven young players.
He may have to play a starter’s role right away. Third-year linebackers Jaylon Carlies and Austin Ajiake started Saturday’s game, rotating series with Allen and Boettcher as competition continues to rage for regular-season playing time.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are capable, and they’re still competing,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “We’ve got another week.”
Allen was drafted in the second round to be a starter, allowing the Colts to hold an open competition for the other spot.
But the Georgia rookie’s training camp has been limited by calf and hamstring injuries, and the time he’s spent on the sideline was evident in his first NFL preseason game Saturday. Allen looked hesitant, often scraping horizontally instead of working downhill to the line of scrimmage, and he was swallowed by a blocker on Tyler Goodson’s 49-yard touchdown.
Ajiake, Carlies and Boettcher have all had moments of brilliance in the preseason so far. They’ve also had moments of weakness, growing pains Indianapolis likely expected from an overhauled linebacking corps this season.
For the moment, though, it’s fair to wonder if the Colts were able to get younger and faster at linebacker without getting the reliability and consistency the defense needs in the middle.
Defensive end
The Colts sat two defensive ends Saturday.
Laiatu Latu’s absence should come as no surprise. Indianapolis needs the first defensive player picked in the 2025 draft to live up to his first-round billing, but he’s an established starter who had 8.5 sacks last season. Arden Key, the other defensive end who has been held out of the first two preseason games, is a veteran the Colts initially signed to be a rotational piece this season, a complementary rusher on the outside.
The way the rest of the Indianapolis defensive ends have played in the first two weeks of the preseason indicate that Key will have to play a much larger role to start.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau, the 2025 second-round pick who is supposed to take a huge leap forward this season, has just one tackle in the first two preseason games despite playing extensively. Tuimoloau has no sacks or quarterback hits. He has struggled to beat offensive tackles early, and through the first two preseason games, the Colts have only three sacks, a sign that the edge rush might be relying entirely on a breakout season from Latu to improve.
That’s a lot of weight on Latu’s shoulders. Weight he was supposed to have some help carrying.
Cornerback
The Colts feel comfortable with their top four cornerbacks.
Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward, Justin Walley and Cam Taylor-Britt have all looked good in training camp. If all four are healthy, the Colts look like they will be able to play the man-heavy scheme defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo wants to run, freeing him up to bombard opposing quarterbacks with blitzes in an effort to augment that uncertain edge rush.
If one of those four is dealing with an injury — Ward has missed the last two weeks with back pain and soreness — there is reason to be concerned about the depth. Veteran cornerback Mekhi Blackmon played 783 snaps for the Indianapolis defense last season, but he has struggled mightily since the Colts training camp shifted into joint practices and preseason games. Blackmon appeared to give up at least three catches and drew two flags for pass interference on Saturday, a performance that mirrored an ugly showing in New England, and he hasn’t recorded a pass breakup yet.
Johnathan Edwards, a second-year cornerback who got his feet wet by playing 313 defensive snaps last season, looks like a key special-teams piece, but he has struggled almost as much as Blackmon. Edwards gave up a 35-yard completion to Beaux Collins on Saturday when he was in good position but simply failed to leap, continuing issues at the point of the catch that have been there throughout training camp. Edwards has been flagged for coverage penalties more than any other Colt at Grand Park, and although he did break up a pass in the second half of Saturday’s game, his cornerback play has been far more frustrating than encouraging.
The two cornerbacks who have made plays, Jaylon Jones and Robert Carter Jr., face their own obstacles. Jones, despite two seasons as a starter for Indianapolis, does not appear to be a fit in Anarumo’s system. Jones doesn’t have the suddenness or speed of the other Indianapolis cornerbacks, but he plays with a bulldog’s mentality, often making plays by fighting through the whistle. Carter, a 5-10 product of the CFL, seems better suited to the slot.
If Ward’s back injury lingers and forces him to miss the opener, the Colts will not have Taylor-Britt available to join the lineup against Baltimore because of a one-game suspension.
Who would step into the starting lineup in that situation is anybody’s guess at this point.
Quarterback
The Colts believe they have three capable quarterbacks.
Daniel Jones, the team’s returning starter, has looked better than anybody could have hoped coming off a December Achilles tear, and if the oft-injured Jones has to miss time again this fall, Anthony Richardson Sr. and Riley Leonard give the Colts’ two intriguing options off the bench, at least in theory.
Richardson, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, is a former starter. Leonard, a sixth-round pick a year ago, surprised the Colts with the way he played in relief of Jones and Philip Rivers late last season.
Saturday’s game was a microcosm of the way the two backups have played in training camp. Leonard has often held the ball in the pocket, waiting a beat too long to throw after making his decision, and it has led to pedestrian performances like Saturday’s 7-of-14, 62-yard showing. Richardson, the otherworldly athlete with the strong arm and dynamic running ability, can produce highlight-reel plays; he also has a tendency to make big mistakes in performances that spiral. Richardson took two sacks, fumbled a snap and nearly threw a bad interception in the shadow of his own end zone Saturday, completing 3 of 9 passes for just 24 yards and failing to direct a scoring drive.
If either quarterback wins the No. 2 role and has to take over for Jones this season, the Indianapolis coaching staff will likely make things easier by building a game plan designed to the backup’s strengths.
But Steichen has said all along that he’s looking for consistency at backup quarterback, and he hasn’t gotten it from Richardson or Leonard yet in training camp.
Offensive line
Indianapolis should have one of the NFL’s best offensive lines if everybody’s healthy. If the Colts are forced to deal with an injury to one member of the line, Indianapolis has a promising fourth-round rookie, Jalen Farmer, to throw into the mix.
If Indianapolis loses two starters at once, or loses starters at the wrong position, things could get shaky in a hurry. The true Colts swing tackle is likely starting right guard Matt Goncalves, a former tackle who could shift outside to make room for Farmer if need be. But if Goncalves is not available, the next tackle available is veteran Blake Freeland, who hasn’t played significant snaps since his rookie season and has been inconsistent in training camp.
If something happens to center Tanor Bortolini, it is even harder to see where the Colts turn. Indianapolis has spent the offseason teaching guard Dalton Tucker to play the center position; Tucker is still struggling at times with shotgun snaps, and the Colts gave undrafted free agent Josh Kreutz the start and the lion’s share of the center snaps on Saturday, even though Kreutz had a few mishaps of his own.
Offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. has earned a reputation for development and resourcefulness in his three seasons as the Indianapolis offensive line coach, and the Colts trust Sparano to figure out just about any situation.
But his job, like a lot of the other coaching jobs on the staff, would be a lot easier if his contingency plans were a little more obvious at this point in the preseason.
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: 5 positions the Colts can’t afford an injury at based on the preseason
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
