Cornerback Kenny Moore II (Achilles) returned to practice on Wednesday as a limited participant, marking the first time Moore has participated in practice since sustaining his Achilles injury in Week 3.
Moore's injury, originally believed to be a calf injury, was one neither he nor the Colts training staff wanted to take any chances with in returning to practice too early.
"It's a confusing place to have an injury," Moore said last week. "Because it starts to become a calf thing, but you don't want it to become a calf thing and then everything just starts working up your body. So there's a lot we put our bodies through to even get back to where we want to be mentally and physically to be good enough to say, 'Hey, I can go again.'"
Over the last three weeks, Moore has put in the work and is now in a position where he is able to return to the field. Head coach Shane Steichen said Moore would go through individual work and participate in some drills during Wednesday's practice.
Moore's return to the practice field was an especially welcome sight as cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr., who sustained a concussion during pregame warmups in Week 6, remains in concussion protocol and did not participate in practice on Wednesday.
In the Colts' 31-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals in on Sunday, with both Moore and Ward out, defensive coordinator had to turn to Mekhi Blackmon, Johnathan Edwards and Chris Lammons as his starting cornerbacks. And while the secondary was able to come up with a few crucial plays to help win the game, the overall defensive performance wasn't up to Anarumo's standards.
"I just think you're losing a Pro Bowl-type player," Anarumo said about Ward. "And anytime you take a guy like that off the field, you're certainly going to maybe not be as good at that particular position, but that's – it is what it is. So, we just have to manage that part of it and be creative from a coaching standpoint to help the guys that are in there – younger, older, it doesn't matter. But Mooney is an elite corner in our league and when you lose players like that, it's certainly – it bothers you, it bothers the team, but nobody cares. The other teams don't care. So, we have to be prepared and ready to go and move forward with who we have."
Wide receivers Ashton Dulin and Josh Downs also did not participate in Wednesday's practice.
Wednesday's practice report:
