INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts had a Marlon Mack sighting on the practice field on Thursday.
The second-year running back, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Colts' preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 9, hadn't been able to get back to the field since that time, but on Thursday was seen stretching and participating in positional drills in the early portion of practice available to be viewed by the media.
Mack's status for Sunday's regular season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals remains up in the air, but the fact he was able to participate in practice for the first time in nearly a month, even if it was in a limited capacity, can certainly be viewed as a step in the right direction.
If Mack can't go against the Bengals, the Colts will turn to their three other running backs to carry the load: rookies Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines and veteran Christine Michael.
Mack is listed first on the team's unofficial depth chart for this week's game, followed by Wilkins, Hines and Michael.
We'll hear more on Mack from Colts head coach Frank Reich on Friday.
Notable quotable
"It was close. I had a 102 (-degree) fever two days earlier this week. So that was close. But, yeah, I mean, I'm still optimistic." — Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo, asked if it would take a catastrophe to keep him out of Sunday's opener against the Bengals. Castonzo, who practiced this week for the first time since re-aggravating a hamstring injury in early-August, is hoping to have a strong practice Friday to be cleared for game action.
Injury report
Here's Thursday's injury report:
» DNP: T/G Denzelle Good (knee/wrist)
» Limited: T Anthony Castonzo (hamstring); LB Darius Leonard (ankle/chest); RB Marlon Mack (hamstring); WR Zach Pascal (calf)
» Full: CB Nate Hairston (hamstring); LB Anthony Walker (groin)
— This is Pascal's first appearance on the injury report. He is currently listed as the Colts' second kick and punt returner on their unofficial depth chart.
— Good news for Hairston and Walker — particularly Walker, who missed time since early in training camp with that groin injury and was able to return for Wednesday's practice.
