George Bremer: Colts Notebook: Joint practices set with Bears, Eagles

Jun. 2—INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time at least since the franchise moved to Indiana in 1984, the Indianapolis Colts will conduct two joint practice sessions this preseason.

First-year head coach Shane Steichen confirmed the news Friday at the start of his media availability.

The first joint practices will be held with the Chicago Bears during training camp at Westfield's Grand Park Sports Complex. Indianapolis will host the Bears for a preseason game Aug. 19 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts also will travel for joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles prior to a road preseason game Aug. 24.

Steichen served as the Eagles offensive coordinator for the past two seasons under head coach Nick Sirianni, a former offensive coordinator for Indianapolis.

"It'll be nice to go out there and compete against those guys — obviously a really talented football team, so it'll be a good test for us in practice with those guys," Steichen said.

There are also some close ties between the Colts and Chicago.

Second-year Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis for three seasons, and Colts general manager Chris Ballard got his start in the NFL as a scout with Chicago.

The connections extend to the rosters. Second-year Indianapolis wide receiver Alec Pierce is looking forward to reconnecting with former University of Cincinnati teammate Tyler Scott, a rookie wide receiver with the Bears.

"Those joint practices are great," Pierce said. "(They're a) good opportunity for you to go out there and compete and see different looks, too. Like our defense, we run a little bit different kind of coverages than other teams will run, so it's good to go out there and test your plays against other defenses because they run different things."

Joint practices have become increasingly common in recent seasons.

Coaches enjoy the opportunity to script situations and target specific areas like third downs or red zone work. They can also control the action with quick whistles and play their starters far longer than they would in a preseason game.

There have also been some ugly fights when things have spiraled out of control around the league.

But the Colts and Detroit Lions conducted two incident-free practices in Westfield last year, and Steichen is looking forward to this year's joint sessions.

"I think it breaks camp up for players to go compete against another opponent," he said. "Obviously, you have these long days in practice and training camp. Just to go compete (against) another opponent in practice is a good break up for camp."

RICHARDSON WATCH

Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson continued to split first-team reps with veteran Gardner Minshew during Friday's session, but Minshew got all the work with the starters during 11-on-11 drills.

Minshew was 4-for-7 in those situations without a touchdown or interception. Richardson went 7-for-9 against the second unit without a pick or a score.

Both of Richardson's incompletions came in the red zone throwing into the end zone. He was a little late with the first throw, which was broken up by a pair of defenders. The second was a throw that went long into the back corner of the end zone.

Each quarterback led a two-minute drive at the end of practice, with Minshew's resulting in a 50-yard field goal and Richardson's ending with a missed 36-yard attempt.

Both quarterbacks struggled with inconsistency in 7-on-7 drills, with cornerback Dallis Flowers making the most eye-brow raising play on a diving catch against Minshew that was not an interception because he was unable to stay inbounds.

"He's been good," Steichen said of Richardson bouncing back from mistakes. "I think with anything, guys are going to make mistakes here and there, but you learn from them. I think he's done a great job of learning from those mistakes and try not to make the same mistake twice.

"I think that's the biggest thing with all players is don't make the same mistake twice. It's our job as coaches to coach them up and get it right. He's had a great mindset."

INJURY REPORT

Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. missed Thursday's practice with what Steichen termed as a hip issue.

"Nothing crazy," Steichen said. "I don't have a timetable on his return, but we're just being smart with him."

Rookie cornerback Darius Rush is dealing with a hamstring issue, and rookie tight end Will Mallory has a foot injury.

"It happened in rookie mini-camp actually, just running a route. But no timetable on his return," Steichen said. "We're just being smart with him as well."