Colts' starters won't play in preseason game vs. Cardinals

After two joint practices with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday and Thursday, the Colts’ starters won’t play in the preseason game on Saturday, said head coach Shane Steichen.

In addition to the starters on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball not playing, neither will backup quarterback Joe Flacco. Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan noted that the Colts took this same approach in Week 2 of the preseason last year.

Coming off of a pair of joint practices, it’s not a surprise that Steichen made this decision–not to mention that GM Chris Ballard recently alluded to Anthony Richardson not being available for this game.

Joint practices provide quite a bit of value for teams, and in some ways more than the preseason game would. For one, all of the key starters participate in joint practices, unlike in a preseason game.

Coaches are also a bit more willing in the joint practice setting to show a little bit more from a schematic standpoint compared to the very vanilla game-plans we see in the preseason. After Wednesday’s practice, Steichen would also add that in joint practices, the teams can emphasize specific and important situations, such as red zone and two-minute scenarios.

Without the starters on the field, there will still be some key positional battles to watch, including at swing tackle, backup middle linebacker, backup nickel, the third running back position, and at tight end, with playing time up for grabs. This will also be a good opportunity for Dallis Flowers and Rodney Thomas to get some important in-game reps.