The Indianapolis Colts haven't had much to be happy about from their 1-2 start to the 2024 season. But they are coming off their first win of the season over the Chicago Bears in Week 3 and have had multiple players have strong individual performances to start the year.
One of those players is their punter, Rigoberto Sanchez, but the team worked out a different punter ahead of their matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While I was initially confused, after thinking it over more, I think I figured out why.
To put into context how well Sanchez has been playing, he has the second-highest net average per punt in the NFL this season at 48.6 yards. He also has the most punts downed inside the 20-yard line this season with 10. What makes this even more impressive is that he has only punted the ball 11 times. His only punt not to be downed inside the 20 was his only touchback on the year.
It goes without saying that the Colts aren't looking to replace Sanchez. This would lead people to think maybe Sanchez is dealing with an injury, but that was also disproven when the team left their punter off their injury report following Thursday's practice.
The next thought that came to my mind was the fact that the player they worked out, Brad Wing, previously played for the Steelers, who the Colts are playing in Week 4. So, one could make the assumption that the Colts could be picking Wing's brain about their upcoming opponent, some good old-fashioned gamesmanship. But honestly, I don't think working out a punter who, outside of his rookie season in 2014, has only played two games for the Steelers, even if they both came last season, would be the best way of gaining information.
The reason I believe the Colts did this is more straight to the point as they prepare to face the Steelers. The Steelers' current punter is Corliss Waitman, which is something the Colts don't have on their roster, with Sanchez being right-footed. So they wouldn't have a way of practicing against a left-footed punter unless they brought in a player for a workout like they did today with Wing. This isn't a new concept. Multiple teams have done the same thing over the years, but it is, without a doubt, an excellent out-of-the-box method to prepare for an upcoming opponent. We probably won't get any confirmation on whether or not this is what the Colts used this workout today for. But after doing the research I laid out above, I feel pretty confident this is why the Colts brought Wing in for his workout.
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