ANDERSON, Ind. – His teammates were telling stories about their trips to Italy and cruises through the Caribbean.
Henry Anderson was talking about the views of…Eagle Creek?
That was the gist of Anderson's offseason.
June and July is all about getting away one last time before the grind of an NFL season occupies virtually the next five-to-six months.
But for Anderson, there was no time to completely decompress.
"I just wanted to go on vacation to kind of get my mind off everything, but I knew that I would be regretting it when I came back," Anderson says of spending his free time at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center this offseason to rehab.
"I really just want to get back to 100 percent as fast as I can because I'm really tired of rehabbing and I want to play football again."
When Anderson will be able to strap on the pads again is still a question.
But the answer is nearing.
In June, Jim Irsay said Anderson's return might not happen for the start of the regular season.
On Wednesday, Chuck Pagano said Anderson has progressed ahead of schedule.
What that schedule is exactly can be vague when it comes to ACL rehab.
Anderson tore his ACL in November, the same one he tore as a sophomore in high school.
The Colts know Anderson making it back for the Week One would be a feat.
A 10-month return, for a player absorbing double teams north of 600 pounds, is something that can't be done on a bum knee.
It's why the Colts are preaching patience with their best young defender, and the Stanford man knows why.
"My knee feels awesome," Anderson said on Wednesday. "I don't think it could feel really any better than it does right now.
"It's just, I did have a fairly major surgery, so I know that they want to make sure it's 100 percent healed before they throw me out there (because) I'm sure they would rather have me out there at 100 percent, than 85-90 percent. And I think that's the smart thing to do.
"We've got a good plan going."
