3 exciting things that happened on the first day of Colts training camp

• On Wednesday, July 26, the Indianapolis Colts had their first practice of training camp.

• Here’s a look at three exciting things that happened in the open practice.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard (53) waves to fans during the first day of training
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard (53) waves to fans during the first day of training / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY
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2. Shaquille Leonard is back on the field

On Tuesday, the Colts announced that Shaquille Leonard passed his physical and would start camp on the field. However, the team plans to work him through a progression before he’s full go. The first step of the progression must’ve been getting Leonard a lot of reps on day one of training camp.

Fans were thrilled to see the team’s leader back in a jersey and on the field running around. He went through individual drills, and also took a ton of reps with the first-team defense. However, the team isn’t currently wearing pads, so that could’ve factored into how active he was on Wednesday.

This is well ahead of where Leonard was at this time last season. He started the year on the PUP list in 2022 and was there for about a month, missing all of camp. This season, Leonard avoided the PUP list, and according to him, is feeling way better than he did a year ago.

Following practice, the linebacker told the media that he had game-day jitters for this practice. Leonard said that he struggled to sleep the night before and he was just excited to get back to doing what he loves, as he plays his self back into form.

The Colts will certainly be wise with how they progress Leonard, but with about six weeks until the start of the regular season, it’s looking like the Maniac should be ready for the season.