INDIANAPOLIS –.It was quite the up and down year from a Colts rookie class that had a bunch of fanfare on it.
With 2023 season complete, it’s time to look back on how the rookie seasons went.
Here’s a look at how the rookies have performed:
After playing in 4 games, logging 173 snaps, the rookie season for Anthony Richardson ended in Week 5. Right shoulder surgery limited Richardson to play 15 percent of the total snaps the Colts offense had this season. That was a massive bummer, especially after Richardson showed some promising moments in his limited sample size on the field.
Unfortunately, the injury bug never really went away for Brents. The Warren Central product ended up playing 42 percent of the defensive snaps, but his season started and ended with an injury. The start was a wrist injury that kept Brents off the field for all of the spring offseason program. A hamstring injury in training camp then sidelined Brents for multiple weeks of practice at Grand Park. Brents made his NFL debut in Week 3, and was immediately tossed into a starting role. A quad injury in Week 7 though sidelined him for nearly two months. Brents returned in Week 14 and was put back into the starting lineup, before a hamstring injury in the season finale ended his season. The early returns of Brents included some nice moments, but he missed some extremely valuable practice and game action, at a position the Colts were desperate to have him on the field.
As expected, Downs was a consistent and reliable option in his rookie season. Downs was the Colts slot receiver and a popular target, no matter if it was Anthony Richardson or Gardner Minshew at quarterback. In playing all 17 games, Downs had 68 catches for 771 yards and 2 touchdowns while playing 69 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. The Colts have a nice piece to their offense of the future in Downs.
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