Horseshoe Huddle

Colts Training Camp Journal, Day 15: Matt Ryan Shines, Kwity Paye Goes Down

The quarterback was throwing darts all over the field, but concerns remain about the defensive end’s status.

Andrew Moore

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The Indianapolis Colts took the field Wednesday for their second to last practice of training camp in 2022.

The Colts were in shells and shorts for the 90-minute session at Grand Park. The Colts have one more practice on Thursday before they play their final preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lucas Oil Stadium. Head coach Frank Reich said earlier this week that he expects the starters to play close to a half in Saturday’s contest.

My colleague Jake Arthur could not attend, so I roamed the sidelines and took in all of the action from Westfield. Here is what I saw from the Colts as they wind down training camp.

TEAM

- The following players did not participate in practice on Wednesday: safety Will Redmond, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, linebacker Brandon King, offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, and center Ryan Kelly.

- Ryan Kelly missed practice on Wednesday due to a positive COVID test. With the starters expected to play close to a half on Saturday, Kelly’s status is up in the air for the matchup. Right guard Danny Pinter replaced Kelly and moved over to center with the starting offense.

OFFENSE

- The Colts focused on quick passes and crossing concepts throughout practice on Tuesday. The offense won the day with wide receivers getting open and converting on most plays. That result has typically been the case when the Colts have not been in pads.

- Matt Ryan looked very accurate on Tuesday. Ryan went 10-of-12 in team periods with a touchdown to Parris Campbell down the left sideline. Ryan looked in control, and the offense had good flow all day.

- The wide receivers and tight ends faced off against the cornerbacks and safeties in 1-on-1s on the goal line today. The offense and defense split the wins 6-to-6. Here were the results of each rep: Stephon Gilmore def. Michael Pittman Jr.; Kylen Granson def. Rodney McLeod; Campbell def. Tony Brown; Kenny Moore II def. Alec Pierce; Ethan Fernea def. Chris Wilcox; Nick Cross def. Michael Jacobson; Ashton Dulin def. Anthony Chesley; Brandon Facyson def. Mike Strachan; Dezmon Patmon def. Gilmore; Julian Blackmon def. Mo Alie-Cox; Brown def. Keke Coutee; Samson Nacua def. Marvel Tell III.

- The wide receivers were once again working on getting off the line of scrimmage today. Wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne was hitting receivers with the bags as they released off the line. The Colts know their group needs to be more physical to win 1-on-1 matchups.

- Pittman continued to dominate practice and be the favorite target of Ryan. Every other play in the full team period, Ryan was throwing Pittman’s direction and converting. Those two have an obvious connection with one another, and it is no secret who Ryan’s favorite target is.

- With Kelly out, the Colts starting offensive line was as follows: left tackle Matt Pryor, left guard Quenton Nelson, center Pinter, right guard Will Fries, and right tackle Braden Smith. The Colts also rotated rookie Bernhard Raimann in at left tackle with the first-team offense. When Raimann was in, Pryor would swing over to right tackle while Smith shifted inside to right guard.

DEFENSE

- The headline of the day for the Colts’ defense was not a good one. During 11-on-11 work, defensive end Kwity Paye went down with a lower left leg injury. Paye was attended to by trainers on the field and then walked off gingerly under his own power. Trainers wrapped up Paye’s leg in ice from right below his left knee down his calf. No word on the severity of the injury, but the Colts did unwrap Paye’s leg at the end of practice, and he was walking around.

- With Paye on the sidelines, Tyquan Lewis joined the first-team defense at the Big End position. Lewis has been getting better throughout camp as he gets his feet under him. Lewis has shown no signs of hindrance from the torn patellar tendon he suffered last season.

- Yannick Ngakoue and DeForest Buckner continued to be disruptive along the defensive line. Buckner struck first, bursting through the interior of the offensive line for a would-be sack of quarterback Nick Foles. Ngakoue was next, burning Raimann on a speed rush for another would-be sack of Foles.

SPECIAL TEAMS

- The Colts confirmed that punter Rigoberto Sanchez tore his Achilles after practice on Tuesday. The loss of Sanchez is a brutal one for the Colts, as Sanchez has been used as a weapon in the kicking game and is a Pro Bowl-level talent. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was wearing a Rigoberto Sanchez shirt at practice and was visibly emotional when talking to the media about his punter.

- The Colts were not without a punter for long. The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has reported that the Colts will be signing punter Matt Haack. Haack was released by the Buffalo Bills this week after one season in Buffalo, where he had 52 punts for 2,230 yards (42.9 avg.).

- While the Colts worked out punters before practice, undrafted free agent safety Trevor Denbow stood in as the punter during special teams drills. Debow punted for a season at SMU in college and had some nice balls during the session.

What did you think of Day 15's action? Drop your thoughts below in the comment section!

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Andrew Moore
ANDREW MOORE

Andrew Moore is the Senior Analyst for Horseshoe Huddle and an Indianapolis Colts expert. Andrew is also the co-host of the Horseshoe Huddle Podcast and the former co-host of A Colts Podcast.

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