Colts' CB JuJu Brents expected to return 'sooner than later'

Following the Colts’ joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday, head coach Shane Steichen said that he expected cornerback JuJu Brents to be back “sooner than later,” according to James Boyd of The Athletic.

Brents would exit the Arizona Cardinals game with a nose injury that occurred while making a tackle and his helmet slid down his face, leaving him bloody. Brents was seen in the locker room afterwards with stitches.

By all accounts, Brents has put together a very solid training camp overall, solidifying himself as one of the Colts’ starting boundary cornerbacks.

He does, however, need as many reps as he can get right now. A second-round pick by the Colts in 2023, Brents would miss offseason programs last spring and part of training camp while injured. He then appeared in only nine of the regular season games.

Brents has been mostly healthy this training camp, but did miss the preseason opener against Denver for precautionary reasons with a shoulder injury. It’s because of this missed time that he was playing in Saturday’s game against the Cardinals while just about every other starter sat out.

We often hear about the Year 2 leap for NFL players, and the Colts’ defense getting that from Brents would provide a massive boost to a secondary that has it’s share of question marks entering the 2024 season.

The Colts starters are expected to play about a quarter and a half in Thursday’s preseason finale.