Colts Provide Injury Updates On Alec Pierce, Charvarius Ward Sr., More

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts have concluded training camp and have returned to practice at their home facility in preparation for their final preseason game on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Detroit Lions.

Head coach Shane Steichen spoke with reporters before Tuesday's practice, giving a rundown of where the team stands on many of its injured players.

As practice began, wide receivers Alec Pierce (Active/PUP-ankle), Josh Downs, Anthony Gould (groin), and D.J. Montgomery were absent from the field, as were tight ends Tyler Warren (groin) and Will Mallory (thumb), cornerback Johnathan Edwards, and safety A.J. Haulcy.

Returning to practice after missing recent time were running back Ulysses Bentley IV (ankle), offensive tackles Luke Tenuta (knee) and Nolan Rucci (ankle), and cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. (back).

Here's what Steichen had to say about certain players' injuries.

Pierce had surgery on his left ankle/heel in March and has yet to practice. He spent all of training camp on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, but began to ramp up his rehab toward the end. Now, Pierce is (hopefully) going to be hitting the practice field this week.

“He will not practice today (Tuesday), but he is in a really good spot. He's in a really good spot,” Steichen said. When asked if Pierce would practice at some point this week, Steichen responded, “Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully, yeah.”

As for keeping Pierce on the PUP list entering the regular season, which would ultimately disqualify him from playing in the first four games, Steichen waived the notion, saying, “We haven't had those conversations yet. We have not.”

Ward missed the final five practices of training camp with a back injury, including the three joint practices against the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. However, he finally returned to practice on Tuesday and got in some work during positional drills. The Colts will ultimately ramp him back up into 11-on-11s.

“Mooney (Ward) is doing good," Steichen said. "He'll be back in practice today (Tuesday). He'll go through some individual stuff, so he's in a good spot.”

Warren left the second-to-last practice of camp early with a groin injury and hasn't practiced since, but the Colts will hold him out as long as necessary out of caution.

“We're going to be pretty smart with Tyler this week, so we'll see," Steichen said. "He might be out all week, but we've got to get him ready for Week 1.”

Don't expect to see Warren in the preseason finale on Saturday, although there's a good chance he returns to practice next week if all goes well.

Gould missed the last four practices with a groin injury, but he's expected back this week. “Gould will be limited at some point,” Steichen said.

Gould was already in competition for his roster spot, both at receiver and as a return specialist. His absence has allowed guys like Coleman Owen, Ashton Dulin, Seth McGowan, and Deion Burks to threaten his standing in the return game.

Giddens missed six consecutive practices late in camp with a hamstring injury before returning in a limited fashion for the final two, participating only in positional drills. He returned to full work on Tuesday and played in 11-on-11s after Steichen declared, "DJ Giddens will be back in there."

Farmer missed last Saturday's game against the Falcons, and though he was in practice on Tuesday, he didn't appear to get a full workload.

“He's dealing with a knee," Steichen said. "He's dealing with a knee, but he's been progressing well.”

Ever since the spring in mandatory minicamp, Farmer has been in and out of the lineup with the knee injury, so it may bear monitoring throughout the season.

Mallory had an outstanding training camp and first preseason game, but he missed last Saturday's game and was seen afterward with a sleeve on his hand.

“He's got a thumb, so he's going to be out for a little bit,” Steichen said.

“Yeah, potentially. It's right in that range,” Steichen said as to whether Mallory could miss Week 1 with his thumb injury.