With 2024 NFL training camps just around the corner, it's time to get up to speed on all 32 NFL teams. Bobby Kownack has the lowdown on position battles, key players and notable subplots across the AFC South.
Catch up on the Indianapolis Colts' offseason developments and 2024 outlook below.
Training Camp Dates/Information
- Players report: July 24 (rookies & veterans)
- Location: Grand Park | Westfield, Indiana (fan information)
Notable Roster Changes
| 2024 draft class | Selection |
|---|---|
| Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA | Round 1 (No. 15 overall) |
| Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas | Round 2 (No. 52) |
| Matt Goncalves, OT, Pitt | Round 3 (No. 79) |
| Tanor Bortolini, IOL, Wisconsin | Round 4 (No. 117) |
| Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State | Round 5 (No. 142) |
| Jaylon Carlies, LB, Missouri | Round 5 (No. 151) |
| Jaylin Simpson, CB, Auburn | Round 5 (No. 164) |
| Micah Abraham, CB, Marshall | Round 6 (No. 201) |
| Jonah Laulu, DT, Oklahoma | Round 7 (No. 234) |
| Additions | Departures |
|---|---|
| QB Joe Flacco | QB Gardner Minshew |
| DT Raekwon Davis | RB Zack Moss |
| WR Isaiah McKenzie | |
| DE Jake Martin |
Preseason Schedule
- Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos | 1 p.m. ET (NFL Network) on Sunday, Aug. 11
- Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals | 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 17
- Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals | 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video) on Thursday, Aug. 22
2024 Schedule Notes
- The Colts are tied for the 21st-hardest strength of schedule in 2024 based on their opponents' 2023 win percentage (.491).
- Indianapolis is one of five teams that opens the season with three of its first four games at home. Indy also opens the season with three of its first four games against 2023 playoff teams.
- The Colts are one of six teams with the latest possible bye (Week 14).
-- NFL Research
What You Need To Know
1) When camp starts, all eyes will be on Anthony Richardson's right arm. The 22-year-old quarterback is coming back from surgery for an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder and not at all looking to change his daring play style. The good news is, general manager Chris Ballard said Richardson will be "full-go" for camp. Indy will surely still want to handle him with care, though, as the team did when it gave him a day off from throwing during minicamp due to soreness. Richardson flashed brilliance under center in four starts last season, with four rushing touchdowns and another three passing TDs against only one interception, but he also left multiple games with injuries even before the one that ended his campaign. If he can avoid falling prey to more health issues in 2024, look out for more brilliance across a full season of work.
2) There's Michael Pittman Jr., and then there's everyone else. The fifth-year wideout has led the team in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for three straight years. Perhaps he'll get even more opportunities if Indy can establish another receiving threat with comparable consistency. Josh Downs is coming off a promising 68-catch, 771-yard rookie season and figures to man the slot as Richardson's second or third target. Rookie Adonai Mitchell has the skill set to match or eventually surpass Downs despite a draft slide to No. 52 in April. Early on, though, Mitchell's biggest competition for snaps is 2022 second-rounder Alec Pierce, who has plateaued somewhat as solely a deep threat. Fifth-round rookie Anthony Gould will also be gunning for playing time beyond what he can bring on kick returns.
3) It's not every day you get to take the first defender off the draft board at No. 15 overall. In fact, that'd never happened in NFL history until the Colts did so by selecting Laiatu Latu to stop a record run of 14 offensive players to kick off this year's draft. Latu joins a stellar pass-rushing group that already finished last season ranked fifth in sacks thanks in large part to Kwity Paye, Samson Ekubam, Dayo Odeyingbo and DeForest Buckner. Indianapolis can afford to rotate Latu in gradually at edge. He's excellent technically and should be a quick study in camp. Seemingly the only noteworthy concern is his injury history; Latu was medically retired by Washington due to a neck injury in 2020, but he eventually transferred to UCLA and became a star.
4) The Colts spent in free agency just as the rest of the AFC South did, but it was mainly to retain their own. They signed Pittman after tagging him and rewarded Buckner with a hefty extension. They also maintained cohesion on defense by re-upping starters like defensive tackle Grover Stewart, linebacker Zaire Franklin and defensive backs Kenny Moore II and Julian Blackmon, as well as keeping backup safety Ronnie Harrison. It shows the front office feels these Colts are close -- and they were. This team essentially fell 15 yards shy of winning the AFC South. Now almost everyone is back with that memory in mind.
5) Although many of the same pieces on the roster are returning, roles will still shift as players compete for snaps. That's especially true in the secondary. Local reporters indicated Nick Cross, who started the team's final two games last season, took the majority of first-team snaps at free safety during minicamp, while Rodney Thomas held the top FS role during Indy's first 15 contests in 2023 and will be working to reassume that position. A similar battle is shaping up at the cornerback spot opposite JuJu Brents, with Dallis Flowers and 2023 seventh-rounder Jaylon Jones two names to watch. Flowers is coming off an Achilles tear suffered four weeks into his first campaign as a starter, while Jones got the nod in 10 contests in the aftermath of that injury.
