So far, the Indianapolis Colts are 1-1 in their first two preseason games. The Colts lost to the Buffalo Bills 23-19, and won against the Chicago Bears 24-17.
The story of the offense so far in the preseason has been the immense struggles of the backup offensive linemen. It’s been a rough start for the protection, but three other players have still managed to put together respectable performances, making their cases that they belong on the roster. Some have even played well enough to possibly earn a more prominent role.
Let’s begin with a backup quarterback who has shown consistency in August for the Colts.
Sam Ehlinger is entering his third season in the league, all with the Colts. Last season Ehlinger was thrown into the fray and couldn’t find his footing against the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, and Houston Texans, losing all three of those starts.
However, so far in his two 2023 preseason contests, he’s been solid. He’s posted 17/23 completions for 196 passing yards and no interceptions. He’s also been able to scramble well, putting together 10 carries for 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Ehlinger’s biggest struggle has been arm strength, which may have been put to rest after connecting with new veteran receiver James Washington for a 42-yard bomb against the Bears en route to a comeback victory.
While Gardner Minshew is securely the backup behind Anthony Richardson at QB, Ehlinger is showing that he deserves a spot on the roster. If Ehlinger ever is called to start, he’ll be ready to answer the bell now that he has more experience under his belt.
Former Green Bay Packers and Texans receiver Amari Rodgers was picked up in free agency by Indianapolis on August 2nd. While he was initially more of a return specialist who struggled with fumbles, he’s showing that he can also be serviceable at receiver in a crowded and competitive room through the preseason.
Through his two contests, he’s had limited playing time but has snagged five catches for 39 receiving yards on six targets, resulting in a 83.3% catch efficiency. He also had a punt return for seven yards against the Bears, which led the team in that game.
Given that Ashton Dulin is now out for the season with an ACL tear, the time is now for Rodgers to make his claim that he belongs in the Colts' receiving corps. While he’ll need to curb his past fumbling issues, he’s also done everything he can with his training camp and preseason reps to showcase that he deserves a spot on the team.
When the Colts started training camp this year, Josh Downs hit the ground running, showing his ability to get open, run crisp routes, and have highly efficient hands to bring in nearly any pass. Thus far, he’s showing these abilities throughout the short sample we’ve seen in the preseason, too.
The former North Carolina Tarheel has been targeted five times in his first two games of real NFL action, hauling in four of those for 49 yards and a healthy 12.3 yards per catch average.
While these aren’t numbers that will catch fire, he’s a rookie who is smoothing out his skill set to adjust to the speed of NFL defenses. Downs has simply been impressive thus far through training camp and the preseason. It will be interesting to see how he’s used against the Philadelphia Eagles as the Colts wrap up their preseason on Thursday.
Could Downs be pushing to start with the first-team offense over Isaiah McKenzie? Only time will tell. What’s clear is that Downs has progressed faster than many expected, and might even earn the starting slot receiver role by the time the Colts face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars to kick off their regular season.
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