Colts' DeForest Buckner Cleared for Return, Will Practice This Week

WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts defense received a boost this week when defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was cleared to return to the field following surgery to fix a herniated disc in his neck in December.

The Colts are at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind., to commence training camp, and they'll have their defensive leader on the field for the first practice on Wednesday.

"Yeah, I'm excited to get back out there, get back on the field," Buckner said. "I was cleared yesterday. So, you know, obviously everybody has a plan on getting me back on the field, and I'm just excited to get back out there with the guys."

Having not participated in on-field team activities all offseason, Buckner won't fully be thrown into the fire, as there will be a "ramp-up" period.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's going to be a ramp-up period, you know, an acclimation period for me to get back out there," Buckner said. "I haven't had contact in the spring and everything like that. And obviously, dealing with my situation, I want to be cautious and be smart in what we do. And yeah, like I said, I'm excited for tomorrow."

"On this break that we had, I was able to do a bunch of field work and everything and do a bunch of D-line drills, go through some pop-up bags and striking some things and stuff like that, and I've been feeling good," Buckner continued.

Buckner, who turned 32 in March, was initially injured in Week 9 last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent the next six weeks on the Injured Reserve list. He returned in Week 16 on Monday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers but reaggravated the injury and was put on IR again, this time for the rest of the season. Buckner then underwent surgery on Dec. 31.

While Buckner had been considered an "iron man" throughout his younger days, injuries have mounted in recent years, as an ankle injury cost him five games in 2024, and the neck cost him seven in 2025.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard was asked if Buckner's usage will need to be scaled back this season or if he can handle a full workload. Ballard said that, while they always want enough depth to have a heavy rotation, they expect Buckner to play a full workload.

The Colts do appear to have adequate depth at three-technique defensive tackle behind Buckner, in Colby Wooden and Adetomiwa Adebawore, which should allow for Buckner to be used slightly more sparingly.

Buckner is entering the final year of his contract, which counts $26.6 million against the Colts' 2026 salary cap.