The Colts have had many of their key players sidelined during the early portion of training camp, but WR Donte Moncrief returned to the field on Wednesday.
Donte Moncrief suffered multiple nagging injuries last season, which caused him to miss seven games.
It was a shoulder injury that eventually ended a promising year in 2016 where he caught 7 touchdowns in the 9 games he was healthy for.
Moncrief’s shoulder issues flared up again already during training camp, and he was forced to miss practice time with an injured AC joint.
The fourth-year receiver out of Ole Miss was set to return to the practice field on Tuesday, but he wasn’t quite ready yet. Moncrief did come back for practice on Wednesday in preparation for this week’s preseason opener against the Lions.
It remains to be seen whether Moncrief will participate in Sunday’s home preseason game against Detroit. With this being a recurring injury, the Colts may want to keep Moncrief in street clothes for their first preseason game.
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However, the Colts’ coaching staff does want to see Moncrief get some reps with backup quarterbacks in case Andrew Luck is forced to miss regular season games.
Moncrief had been extremely durable before last season’s injury troubles.
He played in every single game during his career at Ole Miss, and he participated in all 16 games during his first two NFL seasons.
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The Colts really need Moncrief to be healthy for this to be a dynamic passing offense in 2017.
While him and Hilton form a dangerous duo of wide receivers, the competition for the third spot on the WR depth chart has been uninspiring.
Chester Rogers, Phillip Dorsett and Kamar Aiken would all be overmatched as the team’s number two option, which would allow defenses to focus more on defending T.Y. Hilton.
Moncrief’s health is essential to this offense, and Colts fans hope he can stay healthy for good this time.