The Indianapolis Colts have certainly had their share of injuries throughout training camp and the preseason. Expectedly, quarterback Anthony Richardson has already been banged up. He might be fine now, but he hurt his right pinkie in preseason Week 1. How long can he really last?
To be fair, maybe this is the season for quarterbacks to be hurt and to only miss a little time before the real games begin. Such is the case with the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love. Indy and Green Bay are set to play a preseason game on Saturday, but there is a more important event before that, and Love won't be involved.
The Colts and Packers will participate in a joint practice on Thursday, two days before they play the meaningless preseason game. While the league has to play preseason games (I promise I am not getting paid each time I mention preseason games), they don't normally mean much to the teams.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love will miss the joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts
Roster decisions are mostly made based on training camp and what coaches see in practice. Heck, Indy head coach Shane Steichen might have already made up his mind for who should be QB1, but is letting the controversy between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones play out publicly only so Steichen can say, "See! I know what was up."
But Love hurt his left thumb (not throwing hand) and will miss time, and that means during the joint practice, where coaches can really play starters versus starters in game-type situations, the Colts' secondary will be going up against backup QB Malik Willis.
No offense to Willis, but he isn't Jordan Love. The reactions Indianapolis has to certain situations might be less valuable because the Packers' QB1 isn't available. Practice can still be meaningful, of course, but it is slightly less meaningful if a team's best players aren't able to play.
To be fair, however, what remains of the banged-up Colts secondary (many players have missed camp, or, like rookie cornerback Justin Walley, have been lost for a long time because of being hurt) might not give a true indication of how the Indianapolis Colts will look in real games. Indy might be missing Love, but the Packers won't be facing the Colts' best either.
The good part, as it matters, and that means to Colts coaches and fans, is that Shane Steichen will get to see how Richardson and Jones do against a good Green Bay defense. Whichever plays best might be one step closer to being named QB1 in Week 1 when the Colts play the Miami Dolphins.