WESTFIELD, Ind. – Rookie linebacker CJ Allen slid right into the first-team defense when he made his training camp debut Friday. The 2026 second-round pick began camp Wednesday on the PUP list with a calf strain he sustained late last week.
"We wanted to take the proper steps of feeling like I can move and stuff like that," Allen said of his short stint sidelined. "It felt great to be back doing football."
Allen, fellow rookie Bryce Boettcher and Austin Aijake rotated the first-team reps Friday. Allen had the green communications dot on his helmet and relayed defensive calls to his teammates Friday. He held the same role during his college career at Georgia.
The kicking contest between Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader began today, with both taking six field goal attempts at the beginning of practice. Grupe made every one, with the longest being over 50 yards. Shrader missed his fifth kick, but made all of the others.
"I think it'll be a really good competition," special teams coordinator Brian Mason said Thursday. "We're going to try to get those guys the exact same number of kicks as similar as we possibly can."
Shrader kicked for the Colts in the first five weeks of the 2025 season before sustaining a torn ACL and MCL. He went 13/14 on field goal attempts and made all 14 extra points.
The Colts signed Michael Badgley afterwards, who went 10/11 on field goals and 18/21 on extra points in seven games. Badgley was waived in December, and Grupe was brought in the same day. In the remaining five games of the season, Grupe went 11/11 on field goals and 10/10 on extra points.
"He is a starting kicker in the NFL," Shrader said of Grupe on The Colts Show in June. "One of us is going to be playing for the Colts."
News & Notes from Friday:
- Four players took rest days: tight end Mo Alie-Cox, defensive tackle Grover Stewart, running back Jonathan Taylor and cornerback Charvarius Ward.
- Without Taylor, DJ Giddens took a majority of the first-team reps in the backfield.
- Wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine jumped over the back of CB Justin Walley and hauled in a deep throw from quarterback Daniel Jones.
- QB Anthony Richardson Sr. launched a deep touchdown to WR Sahmir Hagans, and the ball went about 50 yards through the air.
