INDIANAPOLIS — A key piece to the secondary made his return to the practice field for the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday.
That was safety Mike Mitchell, who has missed the last two games with a calf injury.
Mitchell suffered the injury during the Colts' Week 13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and did not return, and wasn't able to practice the last two weeks as the team prepared for eventual wins over the Houston Texans and the Dallas Cowboys.
A key midseason veteran acquisition — he was signed as a free agent on Oct. 9 — Mitchell has played in six games with three starts so far this season, and has logged 24 total tackles, one interception, one pass defensed and two forced fumbles.
He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week back in Week 7 for his standout performance in Indy's win over the Buffalo Bills in which he logged seven tackles, a forced fumble that was recovered by linebacker Darius Leonard and then an interception.
Sticking with the theme of other recent Wednesday practices, however, today's session was an opportunity for the Colts to rest several players dealing with various nicks, bruises and pulls.
Those not out on the practice field on Wednesday included both starting wide receivers (T.Y. Hilton and Dontrelle Inman), starting safety Clayton Geathers, key backup at safety and special teamer George Odum, starting MIKE linebacker Anthony Walker, starting right guard Mark Glowinski, Pro Bowl tight end Eric Ebron and starting defensive linemen Margus Hunt and Jabaal Sheard.
Keep an eye on the practice reports on Thursday and Friday to see who might be in or out for Sunday's crucial Week 16 matchup against the New York Giants.
Injury report
Here's Wednesday's full practice report:
» DNP: TE Eric Ebron (quad); S Clayton Geathers (knee); G Mark Glowinski (ankle); WR T.Y. Hilton (ankle); DT Margus Hunt (foot); WR Dontrelle Inman (shoulder); S George Odum (knee); DE Jabaal Sheard (ribs); LB Anthony Walker (shoulder)
» Limited: S Malik Hooker (hip); S Mike Mitchell (calf); CB Quincy Wilson (elbow)
» Full: None
