Pitcock Placed on Reserve/Did Not ReList, Polian Says
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – For now at least, the Colts' wait for Quinn Pitcock is over.
Pitcock, a second-year veteran defensive tackle who did not report to 2008 Training Camp, has been placed on the team's reserve/did not report list, Colts President Bill Polian said on Wednesday morning.
"Quinn's really thinking that he's not going to play," Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said Wednesday between a pair of practices at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Polian and Dungy did not rule out the possibility of Pitcock returning.
"We put him on 'Did Not Report,' and we'll see where it goes from here," Polian said. "It happens."
Dungy said the Colts will "leave the door open for him."
"I have been aware of people who have changed their mind," Dungy said. "We're not going to shut the door, but right now, that's where he's sitting. He feels like it's just something he wants to do. We told him, 'Just take your time and if you determine you want to come back, you can be a good player for us,' but right now, we're thinking that's not going to be the case."
Pitcock, a third-round selection by the Colts in 2007 NFL Draft, attended Ohio State University, and played in nine games last season, starting one. After playing sparingly early in the season, he started one of nine games and registered 1.5 sacks and 24 tackles, seven solos.
Pitcock played extensively in November and December, and during that period, he had four games in which he had four or more tackles.
In an early-December victory over Baltimore, he had 1.5 sacks.
"It's a tough situation, because we really felt like Quinn had things we were looking for to be a very good player for us," Dungy said. "By the same token, football's a tough game. You have to be into it 100 percent to play effectively.
"If you're not, it's going to be detrimental to you and the team. I can see both sides of it and right now, we're just going to let him relax and we'll move on."
Pitcock was one of three rookies who played extensively at defensive tackle last season.
Tackle Ed Johnson, an undrafted rookie from Penn State, was the only Colts defensive lineman to start all 16 games in 2007. He finished eighth on the team with 63 tackles, 49 solos, and had a sack and eight quarterback pressures. He also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Keyunta Dawson, a seventh-round selection from Texas Tech, also played in all 16 games. He started four and registered one sack, with 34 tackles – 20 solos. He also forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles.
Other Colts defensive tackles include veteran Darrell Reid, rookie free-agent Eric Foster (Rutgers), first-year veteran Joe Bradley (Louisiana-Lafayette) and rookie free-agent Colin Ferrell (Kent State).
Raheem Brock, who started at tackle the past two seasons, has worked more at end this season, and Dungy on Wednesday said Brock likely will stay on the outside.
"We've got some guys who are going to be able to do some things," Dungy said. "We're going to watch them and give them an opportunity to play. The easy thing is to say, 'Let's move Raheem back. Let's do this. Let's stick a veteran guy in there.'''
Dungy compared the current situation to last year's training camp, when then-veteran Anthony "Booger" McFarland sustained a season-ending knee injury. Johnson then moved into the lineup as a starter.
"I think we learned last year with Ed that you give people a chance and see what they can do and usually someone steps up," Dungy said. "It's always the same thing. Last year, Anthony McFarland got hurt and it was a tough day for the defense.
"Ed Johnson got more of an opportunity to play and played great. Somebody will get more of an opportunity now and step in. That's usually what happens."
In other Colts news, Dungy said veteran offensive lineman Ryan Lilja – one of six Colts players currently on the Physically Unable to Perform list – is "doing fine." Dungy said the team is targeting a return for Lilja somewhere around August 15.
Dungy also said the team has yet to finalize a playing-time rotation for Sunday's preseason opener against the Washington Redskins in the Hall of Fame Game.
"We'll see what the medical reports are at the end of the week and Friday we'll start practicing specifically for Washington," Dungy said. "We'll start thinking about that at that point.
"It will be very similar to the first preseason games in the past. Our offensive guys may play a little bit more than they would a normal first game, but it shouldn't deviate too much."
