It seems like every year we are reading that at least one prominent NFL player across the league suffered a season-ending injury either during mini-camp or the pre-season.
Especially now with the acquisition of Julio Jones by the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts simply cannot afford to be that team who has someone big go down.
Just can’t happen. For the San Francisco 49ers, they’re off to a tough start.
So maybe the light two week mini-camp that Frank Reich and company just got done with is actually better.
Carson Wentz doesn’t have the benefit yet of really getting to know his new offensive line in the trenches, but everyone is now good to go for August.
That’s what Matt Taylor, the radio play-by-play voice of the Colts, described on The Dan Dakich Show Tuesday. MayTay gave everyone an inside look at the Colts complex this summer and an update of the league COVID situation.
“For the Colts, there was no 11-on-11 or 7-on-7 yet,” Taylor said. “Every year you see guys go down with ACL’s and achilles. But why? What’s the point? Rick Venturi was talking about that the other day saying if he was a modern day head coach, he wouldn’t be putting guys on the field. You may be seeing a lot more of this in Indianapolis.”
Taylor did mention though that the small summer slate does not benefit every player. Veterans more so are going to enjoy the additional time off than rookies or second year players will.
Why? Less time on the field equals less opportunity to prove yourself capable of playing at a high level.
“A guy like Darius Leonard is different than someone like Isaiah Rodgers because they’re trying to establish a niche,” Taylor added. “A guy like Mo Alie-Cox said he didn’t need OTAs like some of the younger guys because he’s in year four with the same head coach. It’s a delicate balance and it’s kind of fascinating to see it all play out.”
That’s good stuff from one of the smartest guys in the room.
Does this benefit Indianapolis in the long run? Time will tell.
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