Colts Camp — Sep 3: Ballard Backs Allen After Arrest

Keenan Allen was arrested at about one in the morning on Sunday, August 30, in downtown Indianapolis on misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, per Andrew Moore at Colts On SI, citing FOX 59 in Indianapolis — less than 12 hours after his Colts debut against Detroit and 11 days after signing a one-year deal. Our last episode published before any of this was public. The team's statement Sunday: "We are aware of the incident involving Keenan Allen last night. We are in the process of gathering more information and have no further comment at this time." On Tuesday Chris Ballard had a comment, per Michael Greene at Colts On SI: "Good people make mistakes. He's a tremendous human being. Give him some grace and he'll work through the process of the legal system." He pointed to a 14-year clean record, and: "We feel good about who Keenan Allen is, unequivocally." Allen is expected to play against Baltimore. That is a general manager choosing, two days after an arrest, to say so on the record. We also never named Cam Taylor-Britt, who is on the reserve/suspended list for one game under the personal conduct policy, per Eva Geitheim at Sports Illustrated, after a reckless-driving arrest in Cincinnati last year. He is eligible again in Week 2 at Kansas City, per CBS Sports — a suspension reported before cutdown, and the reason the week's one claim was a cornerback.

The claim was a cornerback because the room needed one. Indianapolis was awarded Kapena Gushiken off Philadelphia's cuts on Monday, per the team — five-nine, undrafted out of Mississippi in May, 59 college games — and released tackle Luke Tenuta to make room, then signed Tenuta to the practice squad the same afternoon. Greene had written before the wire that cornerback, defensive tackle and offensive-line depth were the three priorities; the Colts addressed one and paid for it out of the third. The cornerback arithmetic: Taylor-Britt suspended for Baltimore, Mekhi Blackmon claimed away by Cleveland three days before cutdown, Cameron Mitchell on injured reserve since early August. The nine offensive linemen we told you made the 53 became eight on Monday.

Two Colts were claimed. Kicker Blake Grupe was awarded to the Jets, who released kicker Jason Sanders the same day, per Eric Allen at the Jets' site — JJ Stankevitz's line that Grupe "very well could quickly wind up on another team's roster as their kicker this week," which we called an expectation rather than a transaction, resolved in a day. Defensive tackle Colby Wooden, the 2023 Green Bay fourth-rounder acquired in March, was claimed by New Orleans, per the Saints. And quarterback Easton Stick, terminated as a vested veteran Sunday, signed to Tampa Bay's practice squad Monday, per Scott Smith at the Buccaneers' site, where two of his Atlanta coaches from last year now work. Of the other veterans we listed: tackle Blake Freeland signed to Cincinnati's practice squad Tuesday, per the Bengals; safety Juanyeh Thomas visited Pittsburgh on Wednesday and was not signed that day, per Josh Carney at Steelers Depot; defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and center Jimmy Morrissey have no reported destination.

The practice squad is Colts almost to a man. 15 on Monday, per the team. On offense: receivers Anthony Gould — waived a day after leading the receivers in the finale, back — and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, running backs Ulysses Bentley IV and Anderson Castle, tight end Pharaoh Brown, tackles Roy Mbaeteka, on the international designation, and Nolan Rucci, and guard Josh Sills. On defense: defensive tackle Cam Ball, defensive end Mitchell Melton, linebacker West Weeks, cornerbacks Robert Carter Jr. and Kenneth Harris, and safeties Daniel Scott and Trey Washington. Plus Tenuta, 16. So of the releases we named, Sills, Brown and Westbrook-Ikhine came back within a day. Six undrafted rookies are on it, per Noah Compton at Horseshoe Huddle, while linebacker Tahj Chambers was the only undrafted rookie to make the 53. As Compton had it on Tuesday, the 16 doubled up at five positions — receiver, running back, tackle, cornerback and safety. Then Tuesday's swap: running back Davon Booth, from Cleveland's camp, and guard Reid Holskey in; Bentley out.

The reserve list, per the team's log and roster page: tight end Will Mallory on injured reserve with a return designation, a thumb, listed for Week 5; receivers D.J. Montgomery and Coleman Owen, a concussion, on injured reserve; Mitchell and Carson Towt from August; Taylor-Britt on the suspended list. And the count we gave you — 29 waived, six released, three to injured reserve — holds exactly against the team's published list, as do the trade terms for Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and the three-running-back, three-quarterback shape. No backup quarterback has been named; Shane Steichen's last public word on it is the August 29 non-answer, and Ballard did not settle it Tuesday. On Anthony Richardson, he settled something else: "He is going to be an Indianapolis Colt this year."

Ballard on Alec Pierce's ankle: "We'll see how it continues to progress over the next 10 days" — a window that ends at the opener. On more moves: Ballard indicated the tackle depth behind Bernhard Raimann and Jalen Travis could change over the next week, and that Matt Goncalves "unequivocally can do it" at tackle. And on the thing July was about, per Stankevitz: "I think he had almost 450 more throws than he did a year ago at this time, because he's getting all the reps," and on the rehab, "I think that's a credit to him and the work he put in and how diligent he was with each step of the rehab process and a determination to get back." Daniel Jones took nearly every first-team rep through camp and the preseason, less than nine months after the tear.

Back in July we previewed this team as one the market was pricing on a tendon rather than a team — a win total built on doubt about Jones' surgically repaired Achilles instead of the offense around it. The team around it went eight and nine last year. The offense was ninth in expected points added per play — the measure of how much each snap moved the expected score — and third by the same measure running the ball, with a defense sixteenth in it and 22 takeaways, tied for seventh. Cut day guaranteed the market's question gets answered in a game. This week added the general manager's estimate of what the summer bought the tendon — almost 450 more throws than a year ago — and put two things around it that July never priced: a receiver the team is standing behind after an arrest, and a cornerback room that opens the season one starter short. The tendon read holds. The Ravens meet it cold, as we said, and now with Allen and without Taylor-Britt.

Next is the Ravens, Sunday, September 13, at Lucas Oil Stadium. What to watch: whether Pierce is a full participant in game week, and who is the second quarterback on the first game-day roster. The Recap follows the game.

_Data via nflverse._