WESTFIELD, Ind. — The first week of training camp threw plenty of adversity the Colts' way.
Quarterback Carson Wentz felt a twinge in his foot that required a procedure. Left guard Quenton Nelson underwent the same procedure one day later. Center Ryan Kelly hyperextended his elbow. And all this happened while head coach Frank Reich was in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
"It was like, well, it was kind of a s*storm right now," Kelly said. "But here we are, we're back at it and we're rolling."
Wentz, Nelson and Kelly all returned to practice on Monday; all three again participated in limited fashion on Tuesday. But Kelly participated for a few snaps in full-team, 11-on-11 drills; getting in those will be the next step for Wentz and Nelson.
"At least I can go out there and sweat and get back into football shape," Kelly said. "It's amazing how fast you kind of lose it. I feel 10 times better today than I did yesterday."
While Nelson hasn't participated in full-team drills yet, his mere presence in individual drills has helped bring the Colts' offensive line into focus over the last few days. The same goes for Kelly.
And it also goes for Julién Davenport, who started at left tackle in Saturday's preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings and played a team-high 60 snaps there. Coach Frank Reich said after the game he thought Davenport played well; offensive coordinator Marcus Brady agreed with that assessment on Tuesday.
"Getting very comfortable with him. He's done a good job," Brady said. "Obviously he started late because of missing some days early in camp. But he has come on strong picking up the offense and then getting settled in with those guys. He's looked strong for us."
Davenport was on the COVID-19/reserve list early in training camp and missed a handful of early practices. The 26-year-old is entering his fifth season in the NFL and started 28 games between the Houston Texans (2017-2018) and Miami Dolphins (2019-2020).
Getting Kelly and Nelson back should only help Davenport settle in, too,
"(Kelly is) the leader of the group, the voice of that group. Pre-snap, making all the calls, making sure the communication is right, that helps a lot," Brady said. "Then going to get Q back. We're starting to get it. Yesterday in the walkthroughs, they had those guys in there, it's going to help Julién that much more just because they've been in the system for so long, they know the calls. They're going to make sure he's going to the right guy."
Quick Hits
- Wide receiver Mike Strachan did not participate in Tuesday's practice due to a non-COVID illness.
- Tight end Farrod Green left practice with a hip injury.
- Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers had impressive pass break-ups in one-on-one and seven-on-seven, and had an interception in a seven-on-seven period, too.
- Safety Sean Davis had an interception, his second in as many days.
- Cornerback Kenny Moore II had an effective pressure in an 11-on-11 red zone rep.
- The Colts' training camp roster is now at 80 players after kicker Eddy Pineiro was waived and tight end Noah Togiai was waived-injured on Tuesday. All NFL rosters have to be cut down to 53 players by Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. E.T.
They said it
"I gotta figure out which of the running backs took out my elbow because they owe me a new one." - Center Ryan Kelly
