Colts players yet to decide on voluntary workouts

Colts are set to begin OTAs on April 19.

Though much of the focus this month has been on the upcoming 2021 NFL draft, a big mile-marker for the offseason in April is the start of voluntary workouts for every team, including the Indianapolis Colts.

However, due to a lack of safety protocols concerning COVID-19, several teams have already announced they won’t be participating in the voluntary workouts. Among those teams are the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

All three teams gave statements via the NFL Players Association on Tuesday.

The Colts are a team that typically gets almost every player to participate in the offseason workouts. Whether they are full participants or rehabbing injuries, the Colts have solid showings when it comes to optional work.

But they have yet to decide on what they want to do as a team for these voluntary workouts, especially with COVID-19 still impacting the league’s decisions and protocols.

The Colts had their share of run-ins with COVID-19 in 2020. They lost defensive linemen Denico Autry and DeForest Buckner for a game or two during the second half along with running back Jonathan Taylor, who was a close contact rather than testing positive for the virus.

Phase 1 of OTAs for the Colts is set to start on Monday, April 19. This part of the offseason workouts is simply strength and conditioning and rehab. They can’t get on the field until later in OTAs, but the Colts still typically get high attendance.

It should also be noted that there are no workout bonuses in any of the contracts for the Colts players, which would be an incentive for a certain player to show up for the voluntary workouts.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this situation as more teams are likely to give statements ahead of OTAs, but the Colts have yet to make their decision known to the public.

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