
“Putting the pads on is going to be good for us next week,” Steichen said Saturday. “So just repetition, coming together as a football team, that’s what camp’s about, right? It’s building your identity in camp and the mental and physical toughness.”
WESTFIELD, Ind. — Key position battles are in full swing as the Indianapolis Colts donned full pads for the first time in the fifth training camp practice Monday morning.
The revamped defense had shut down the offense in the first week of camp, especially during Saturday’s session focused inside the red zone. Prior to Monday, the Colts passing attack looked inferior to the secondary and neither quarterback seemed to gain any leverage in the battle to claim the Week 1 starting job.
Third-year QB Anthony Richardson showed significant signs of progression with his best performance on Monday and completed all 10 passes during team drills. On the second play of the final 11-on-11 session, Richardson recognized the zone coverage and let it rip with a 30-yard laser down the sideline to receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in between cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Nick Cross, which drew an emphatic roar from the Grand Park crowd.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) July 28, 2025
When the 23-year-old QB looks as sharp as he did Monday, it becomes tough for any defense to stop Indy’s run-pass-option scheme. The dual-threat QB looks most effective when using his legs to scramble outside the pocket or running read option alongside star running back Jonathan Taylor. Richardson layered a perfect throw to tight end Will Mallory against zone coverage during 7-on-7 drills, proving he can deliver accurate throws in an empty pocket. He showed poise while moving through his progressions on consecutive plays and fired a pair of darts over the middle to Pittman and Josh Downs to end his day.
The Colts offense finally looked efficient and found some rhythm, which was the biggest area of improvement Colts head coach Shane Steichen mentioned he wanted to see during their second week together at camp.
“Just getting into a rhythm,” Steichen said. “It’s chemistry. You get into training camp, you’ve got to go through the reps. It’s muscle memory.”
Rookie tight end Tyler Warren is getting much more involved in the offense after a slow start to his first NFL training camp. The stampede in the grandstands witnessed the 2024 First-Team All-American snag low throws inches off the grass and demonstrate elite concentration to secure one-handed catches on numerous occasions. Steichen orchestrated a screen for Warren, who then raced downfield for a 30-yard gain to showcase his ability to gain massive yards after the catch.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26070539/TBG_9428.jpg)
Thomas Butler-Guerrero
Fans in attendance caught an early glimpse last week when Richardson found the 6-foot-5 rookie wide open and connected on a crosser for an explosive play in 11-on-11 team drills. If the pass is within his vicinity, Warren has shown he will grab the leather out of the air and still manage to keep his stride, rather than dive to the grass and rely on his body to make the catch.
#Colts TE Tyler Warren one hander pic.twitter.com/k2cPqvcwuW
— Stampede Blue (@StampedeBlue) July 26, 2025
The Colts filled a massive void at tight end by selecting Warren with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Warren is a real threat as a receiver with a natural ability to get open in space, evidenced by his 19 career touchdown receptions at Penn State, which is fifth all-time in program history. It will be intriguing to discover how Steichen designs plays for Warren, but there’s another element of his skill set as a bruising lead blocker that has yet to be deployed.
“Putting the pads on is going to be good for us next week,” Steichen said Saturday. “So just repetition, coming together as a football team, that’s what camp’s about, right? It’s building your identity in camp and the mental and physical toughness.”
Daniel Jones was given a lifeline to revive his aspirations as an NFL starter when he recognized the opportunity presented in Indianapolis. Despite the caveat of knowing he would have to split first-team reps, Richardson’s absence during veteran minicamp led to more uncertainty regarding the Colts open QB competition. Any professional quarterback would look to seize the opportunity to compete for one of the NFL’s 32 starting jobs, but thus far, Jones has not thrived on the practice field.
The seventh-year veteran looks capable of running Steichen’s RPO scheme, but the timing of his throws has been way off with his pass catchers. Jones has unofficially completed 27-of-46 passes in 11-on-11 team drills through the first five practices, which is slightly beneath a 60% completion rate. The Colts defensive backs have been pesky against Jones, constantly charging in the last millisecond to deflect passes away from his intended target. It could be the timing factor Jones has to still get adjusted to, but his throws often arrive late with less zip on the ball than his counterpart.
The most difficult days for the offense were this past weekend as five of Jones’ six incompletions in Friday’s team drills were deflections by the defensive backs. Jones followed up that shaky outing completing just 5-of-14 passes in Saturday’s team drills. To be fair to Jones, both QBs were a combined 0-for-7 passing in the first wave of practice, which was focused inside the red zone. Jones has been on the unfortunate end of a few drops by Colts receivers, including Adonai Mitchell on consecutive passes last week and Pittman on his first throw of team drills Monday. Mitchell had a much better showing Monday, even racing past Ward for a touchdown during the intense 1-on-1 drills.
AD on the move. pic.twitter.com/oaag7DhIXf
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) July 28, 2025
Jones looked to bounce back while commanding the second-team offense in the final two team periods on Monday and hit receiver Ashton Dulin twice, including an explosive play across the middle. It’s fair to say Jones, who is playing on a one-year, $14 million deal, has to outplay Richardson moving forward to win the starting job.
Steichen emphasized his two goals at the start of training camp were to create a mental toughness edge, while coming out of camp in great physical shape. The Colts depth chart is starting to take form and reveal itself near the halfway point of training camp.