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What to watch in Colts-Bears preseason tilt at Lucas Oil Stadium

WESTFIELD — The rise of joint practices has altered the NFL preseason just as much as the league’s decision to reduce the schedule from four games to three.

When two teams get together for joint practices, the real work is almost always done on the practice field, leaving the preseason game to the rookies, players locked in tight position battles and backups fighting hard for spots on the 53-man roster.

From the sounds of it, Saturday night’s 7 p.m. kickoff between the Colts and Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium (FOX59) might be more of the latter.

Old friend Matt Eberflus has already taken care of his side of the equation.


The former Colts defensive coordinator-turned-Bears head coach revealed at the end of two joint practices that he does not plan to play starting quarterback Justin Fields, along with a select group of his starters, due to the work they’d gotten in two days against Indianapolis at Grand Park.

Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen repeatedly declined to reveal his plans for playing time this week, and he wasn’t available for interview Thursday night; Eberflus told reporters the Bears coaching staff made their decision Wednesday.

Even if the Colts do not play some of their starters, though, there are still plenty of reasons to watch a young roster take on Chicago in the preseason Saturday night.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) jogs across the field Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, during training camp at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.

All eyes on Anthony Richardson

How Steichen handles rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson is going to be fascinating.

The Colts coach named Richardson the team’s starting quarterback Tuesday, setting up the No. 4 pick in the draft to take more than 70 snaps in 11-on-11 work over two days against the Bears. Historically speaking, the Colts have held out most of their own critical players when an opponent makes the decision Eberflus has, and the quarterback almost always falls into that equation.


But Steichen hasn’t been shy about his belief that the best way to develop a young quarterback is by playing him as much as possible, and Richardson clearly learned a lot in last week’s 29 preseason snaps against the Bills.

On the other hand, the Colts’ second-team offensive line has struggled in training camp, gave up two immediate sacks of Gardner Minshew last week and had issues against the Bears in joint practices this week. Indianapolis likely will not have center Ryan Kelly and starting right guard Will Fries due to injury, and if Steichen decides to rest his most established veterans, left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith fit that bill.



Even if Richardson does not play, it’s probably worth catching a few glimpses of the player the Colts hope will develop into their next franchise quarterback, an infectious presence who has already shown an ability to connect with the fans.

Offensive line position battles

Four spots on the Indianapolis offensive line seem set in stone: Nelson, Kelly, Smith and left tackle Bernhard Raimann. Fries has been the starting right guard throughout training camp when healthy, and the Colts have spent the offseason expressing confidence in the potential for those five to bounce back.

Beyond those five, big questions remain.

Indianapolis shifted offensive lineman Arlington Hambright from left tackle to right guard this week, moving Hambright to his natural position and then into the starting lineup when Fries suffered a calf strain early in Wednesday’s practice against Chicago.

Fourth-round pick Blake Freeland started at right tackle against Buffalo in place of an injured Smith last week and had a few rookie moments, then shifted to the left side this week, allowing veteran Dan Skipper to slide onto the second-team line at right tackle. Danny Pinter is back at center in Kelly’s absence, and he’s struggled the last two seasons. Former Cowboy Dakoda Shepley and second-year Colt Wesley French are in the mix.

Indianapolis desperately needs a couple of those players to step forward and establish themselves as depth in the likelihood that one of the starters goes down during the regular season. If Steichen decides to sit his most established players against Chicago, the backups should have plenty of snaps to make an impression.

Dulin difficulty

The Colts lost veteran wide receiver Ashton Dulin to a torn ACL this week.

Indianapolis also lost its best gunner, a former second-team All-Pro pick who acts as a perfect complement to punter Rigoberto Sanchez, pinning opposing punt returners to the sideline with each Sanchez offering.

The Colts now need replacements at both spots, and Saturday night’s preseason game is an opportunity for players to make cases. Few wide receivers have stood out on the Grand Park practice fields outside of the top four — Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Isaiah McKenzie — but a big group of players that includes Breshad Perriman, Juwann Winfree, Amari Rodgers and others suddenly has an opportunity on Saturday night.

And although people don’t like watching punts, the loss of Dulin means that the Colts need somebody to step into that role as the team’s top gunner, and it’s arguably the easiest special teams position to watch closely.

Corner conundrum

Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker Jr., a pair of second-year undrafted free agents, have been the top two outside cornerbacks in Indianapolis throughout the offseason.

But the Colts drafted JuJu Brents in the second round, Darius Rush in the fifth and Jaylon Jones in the seventh in April, intent on rebuilding their depth at cornerback after losing 67.1% of their snaps at the position in the offseason by trading away Stephon Gilmore, allowing Brandon Facyson to leave in free agency and releasing Isaiah Rodgers following his gambling suspension.

Injuries to Brents and Rush in the spring and training camp kept the team’s top two rookies from competing, and the pecking order at the position hasn’t changed since they returned to the lineup.

If one of the rookies is going to make a bid for the starting lineup, it’s going to take a big game, or a big moment, like Rush’s pick-six against Buffalo last week.

Defensive line intrigue

One of the most underrated battles on the roster is the battle to back up the incredible combination of DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.

Free agent signee Taven Bryan, 2022 fifth-round pick Eric Johnson, fourth-round rookie Adetomiwa Adebawore and former Bronco McTelvin Agim are all competing for those spots, and the emergence of Johnson and Agim has made it a tight battle.

Big plays are going to be key; Indianapolis will use Dayo Odeyingbo as an interior pass rusher on passing downs, but Buckner is going to need to get a breather every once in a while.

Chicago’s offensive line struggled to hold back the Colts on the practice fields at Grand Park, and there might be opportunities for one of the defensive tackles to make an impression Saturday night.