[JAFF]

8/6 practice report

WESTFIELD — Anthony Richardson stepped up to the line, surveyed the defense and saw Alec Pierce to his right, lined up in a one-on-one situation against cornerback Darrell Baker Jr.

Richardson likes Pierce in that situation. The speed, the size, the leaping ability that didn’t get used enough last season.

The rookie took the snap, faked a handoff and fired down the sideline to Pierce, who hauled in the throw ahead of the secondary and raced into the end zone for a touchdown and a clear piece of evidence that the Colts’ first-round pick is starting to make some strides in training camp.

“It was 1-on-1 back side, and we had another combination over there (on the other side),” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “He snapped back and threw that 1-on-1.”


Richardson completed 6 of 8 passes and threw three touchdown passes in Sunday’s practice, turning in his second impressive performance in less than 24 hours, this time taking the first-team snaps after playing with the second team Saturday night.

But the Pierce play might have been his most impressive, given the situation.

First of all, the Colts were in what Steichen terms a “call-it period,” a period of practice where the coordinators on both sides are calling plays into the headset in real time, the same way the team will in a game. Most practice periods are scripted; players know which plays the team is installing ahead of time.


A call-it period takes away the heads-up.

“It lets the guys think,” Steichen said. “Instead of looking at a script, it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to come out and call plays.’ A lot of our system’s installed, and we’re adding pieces bit by bit, but it’s good to let those go out there and react and make it like it’s game day.”


Richardson was impressive in the Colts’ call-it period Sunday, completing 3 of 4 passes — the only incompletion coming on a drop by running back Evan Hull —and putting together two decisive runs, slicing through the defense in some of his most electric work with his feet so far.

Then he followed it up with a decisive win for the offense in Steichen’s final scenario, a two-minute drill where the offense takes over at the defense’s 25-yard line with 46 seconds left on the clock, one timeout and in desperate need of a touchdown and 2-point conversion.


Richardson didn’t need all 46 seconds, hitting Kylen Granson in the corner of the end zone on the second play of the drive, then racing out to his right and leaping into the end zone for the 2-point conversion.

The rookie also tossed a touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr. early, and he could have had another score if Dallis Flowers hadn’t pulled down his receiver on his first attempt, drawing a penalty flag from the referees for pass interference.

After an up-and-down opening to camp, Richardson has come on strong the past two days, completing 15 of 19 passes for five touchdowns over the past two practices. The rookie quarterback also made big plays with his feet Sunday, opening the practice with a big gain for a potential touchdown on a draw and carving out yards throughout the practice.

“You get repetitions, you do things more and more, and you’re going to get more comfortable,” Steichen said. “I think he’s gaining confidence in the system, gaining confidence with his teammates. When you have that, and you have the talent that he has, it’s usually a good thing.”

The Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson (5) runs drills at the Indianapolis Colts Training Camp, held at Grand Park on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Westfield Ind.
Running roughshod

For most of training camp, the news on the running game has centered around Jonathan Taylor’s desire for a contract extension and the broken arm suffered by backup Zack Moss, rather than the performance.

The Colts changed the focus, at least for a little bit, on Sunday.

Third-year back Deon Jackson ripped off two big runs, Richardson was a decisive, knifing presence as a runner out of the backfield and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie scored a touchdown on an end-around early in the practice, racing 15-20 yards for a score.

Fellow backup running back Jake Funk also had a nice run, ripping off a solid run on the first play of Richardson’s two-minute drill in the red zone to set up the touchdown throw to Granson.

Defensive difference

A first-team defense depleted by injuries struggled against Richardson and the first-team offense Sunday.

But the Colts defense made a few more plays against Gardner Minshew and the rest of the second team. Minshew completed 13 of 17 throws and tossed a touchdown on a shovel to La’Michael Pettway, but most of those completions were short throws, and on his first dropback of the day, linebacker Grant Stuard finished off a sustained rush to complete the “sack,” forcing coaches to whistle the play dead.

Little-known linebacker Segun Olubi continued his strong camp, making four tackles and laying a couple of hard hits on Hull. Adetomiwa Adebawore and Khalid Kareem combined for another “sack” of Minshew later in the practice during the call-it period, and then linebacker E.J. Speed picked off Minshew to end the red-zone drill in the two-minute.

Injury report

Free safety Rodney Thomas II was held out of most of Sunday’s practice with what appeared to be an undisclosed injury. Steichen did not have an update on Thomas II after the practice.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (foot), cornerback Kenny Moore II (ankle), safety Julian Blackmon (hamstring), defensive end Samson Ebukam (hamstring), tight end Mo Alie-Cox (ankle), Jelani Woods (hamstring), tight end Will Mallory (hamstring), linebacker Liam Anderson (right arm/shoulder), defensive end Genard Avery and linebacker Cameron McGrone did not practice.

Taylor and defensive end Tyquan Lewis (knee) remain on the active/physically unable to perform list.

Quick hitters

The Colts defense made a couple of nice plays in 7-on-7. Linebacker Shaquille Leonard nearly picked off one Richardson pass with one hand, and then rookie cornerback JuJu Brents had a near-pick of his own a couple of plays later. … Third-year wide receiver Michael Strachan made one impressive catch over rookie cornerback Darius Rush, but he largely struggled outside of that play, allowing rookie cornerback Jaylon Jones to break up two passes and Brents to break up another later in the practice. … Undrafted safety Michael Tutsie had a key pass breakup for the second consecutive day. … One of Rigoberto Sanchez’s punts was blocked.