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2021 Colts Training Camp Journal, Day 18: Wentz, Nelson, Kelly Return

Monday was a big day of Colts training camp as Carson Wentz, Quenton Nelson, and Ryan Kelly made their returns to the field. (Video via Indianapolis Colts YouTube)

Jake Arthur

It was a big day at practice on Monday for the Indianapolis Colts as they were able to get back three enormous pieces of their offense in starting quarterback Carson Wentz, left guard Quenton Nelson, and center Ryan Kelly.

The Colts have been without each player for about three weeks while Wentz and Nelson each recovered from a procedure on their foot and Kelly rehabbed an elbow injury. Getting all three back now with a few weeks before the regular season begins should go a long way toward them being ready for that first game. 

I was not able to be in attendance on Monday, but I collected notes from some of my colleagues who were there. Make sure to catch the Twitter accounts of Kevin Bowen, George Bremer, Stephen Holder, and Zak Keefer for more.

— NFL teams need to get to 80 players on the roster by Tuesday afternoon, so the Colts made some roster moves Monday morning by waiving TE Andrew Vollert, DT Joey Ivie, and LB Skai Moore.

— Initially, it was thought that Wentz may be brought back slowly, but he took every single rep of the Colts' 7-on-7s on Monday. He went 27-of-44 passing (61.4%) (H/T Bremer) with 3 touchdowns (TE Jack Doyle, WR T.Y. Hilton, WR Mike Strachan) and 1 interception (S Sean Davis). The interception was picked by Davis after it deflected off of WR Tyler Vaughns' hands.

— Monday was about getting Went some action while also testing and evaluating his foot. After Wentz and HC Frank Reich spoke to reporters after practice, the indication is that Wentz will likely get some rest days between now and the season although they would like to get him consecutive days of work. However, Wentz is still "optimistic" he'll be able to return for the Week 1 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

— “I thought Carson looked good," Reich said after practice. "When I first saw him popping around out there I thought, ‘That looks pretty good.’ I had seen a little of it indoors, but just seeing it out here on the grass and kind of the speed he was moving, I thought he looked good. The big question now is how does it respond? He did everything today but team periods. We created a second 7-on-7 period really to get him more work but also to get Quenton and Ryan some more work because the O-line can do individual. We weren’t ready to introduce those guys into team drills yet.”

— While Nelson and Kelly returned and were said to be at full speed, the Colts were also not ready to throw them into 11-on-11s quite yet. Still, like Wentz, they wanted to get them on the field and get them some work.

— QB Jacob Eason took over the first unit during 11-on-11s when Wentz was done with his live action. Eason went 7-of-11 passing (63.6%) and was also intercepted by Davis. Monday was easily Davis' most productive practice from a statistical standpoint. LB Bobby Okereke also intercepted Eason for what I believe is the third time in camp.

— QB Sam Ehlinger went 7-of-9 (77.8%) with no touchdowns or interceptions, but he did have a nice, deep pass completion to WR Parris Campbell.

— QB4 Brett Hundley also got into the day's fun as he made what Bremer referred to as the "play of the day" to that point, finding Vaughns for a 40-yard score.

What did you think of Day 18 of #ColtsCamp? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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Jake Arthur
JAKE ARTHUR

Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for a decade. He is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) and FantasyPros' expert panel. He has also contributed to multiple NFL Draft guides.

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