A few days before camp, some Colts gather for Quenton Nelson's celebrity softball game
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts begin training camp Wednesday with a bevy of uncertainties. After a 4-12-1 season that led to bringing in new coach Shane Steichen and two new quarterbacks — rookie Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew — the team is looking to reverse its fortune.
On Saturday, many of the Colts’ vital pieces participated in guard Quenton Nelson’s Celebrity Softball Game at Victory Field. The game is a new addition to Nelson’s third annual Blocking Cancer event in collaboration with the V Foundation.
Players were glad to come together as a group a few days before camp begins.
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“This is a great way to start off camp,” cornerback Kenny Moore said. “To be together, to start off the camaraderie and a little competition.”
The game signaled the second night of the event, as Nelson had an auction dinner at the Lucas Estate in Carmel on Friday night. The dinner raised $700,000 for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Colts owner Jim Irsay contributed with a $250,000 donation.
Nelson appreciated his teammates who came out to play in the exhibition softball game.
“They could be anywhere they want,” Nelson said. “They could be back in their hometowns right now. For them to get here a week before camp and play in this game, it means a lot.”
The excitement of a rookie quarterback gives intrigue to the Colts’ camp. The team’s veterans want Richardson and the other rookies to feel comfortable immediately.
“I told (Richardson) during the spring, ‘Look man, they wouldn’t have drafted you fourth overall if you wasn’t that, so you’re him, for sure. You’re a ball player, you’ve got everything,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “At the end of the day, it’s just football.”
Moore enters training camp as the most experienced cornerback on the Colts’ roster. The 27-year-old is beginning his seventh season in Indianapolis after being undrafted in 2017.
The Colts traded Stephon Gilmore, their most experienced cornerback, to the Dallas Cowboys in March. At the end of June, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was waived after the NFL announced his indefinite suspension for gambling violations. The subtractions of Gilmore and Rodgers leaves Moore to mentor a group of young players that includes second-round draft pick, Julius Brents.
“As a rookie, you’ve got different intensity as far as college and moving over to the pros,” Moore said when recalling his first camp. “The best thing about it was not having any pride. I was willing to learn at all phases.”
Last season, Franklin led the Colts and was fourth in the NFL with 167 combined tackles. His individual success did not lead to a fruitful season for the team.
“We’ve come into training camp with high expectations, this year it’s the opposite. But guess what? At the end of the day, none of it meant anything,” Franklin said. “The sooner you realize in the league that you make your own narrative, it doesn’t matter what they’re talking about on TV, the faster you’ll be on your way to success.”
Nelson is ready to put the disastrous results of 2022 in the past.
“With camp coming up, you get to put the pads on and go full speed, so I’m just ready for that to start up,” the five-time Pro Bowler said. “We’ve got a clean slate this year — new coaching staff, new identity — and I’m excited to go in camp.”
Colts players will report to training camp on Tuesday and hit the field at Grand Park in Westfield on Wednesday. Two and a half weeks of battling each other will lead to Aug. 12, when the Colts will play the first of three preseason games, a road trip to face the Buffalo Bills.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Quenton Nelson Celebrity Softball game V Foundation cancer research
