WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Colts' quarterback battle is hardly the only competition taking place in training camp. There's a case to be made every position group has some level of top-line competition, whether it's for a starting role or a spot on the depth chart.

And that competitive list includes special teams, where Spencer Shrader and Maddux Trujillo are competing to be the Colts' kicker.

Shrader, a 2024 undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, appeared in one game for the Colts last season and bounced around their practice squad before a whirlwind stretch in which he kicked for the New York Jets for a week, then immediately went to the Kansas City Chiefs for two weeks. He connected on a game-winning, time-expiring field goal for the Chiefs; he made all five of his field goal attempts and all nine of his PATs between the Colts, Jets and Chiefs last year.

The Colts brought Shrader back as a free agent in March, released veteran Matt Gay a few weeks later then brought in Trujillo as an undrafted free agent. Trujillo spent his college career at Austin Peay and Temple; at Temple, he connected on a 64-yard field goal that stands as the longest field goal ever made at Lincoln Financial Field.

So the Colts are embarking on a kicking competition between Shrader – who's attempted (and made) 14 kicks in the NFL – and Trujillo, a rookie.

On Friday, Shrader and Trujillo kicked for the first time in a full-team practice, with Shrader making four of six attempts and Trujillo connecting on three of five tries. But there will be more opportunities for both to kick in the next few weeks, whether it's in a pre-practice script, during practices/scrimmages and as part of the Colts' three preseason games.

"There's plenty of times where we're going kick individually or in pre-practice that will be scripted and evaluated, but the biggest time that they are going to be evaluated is when we go into a team setting, when we go into a joint practice, when we go in preseason," special teams coordinator Brian Mason said. "That is truly an open competition, so we're trying to get those guys equal reps as much as we possibly can early on to see who can kind of take hold of that competition. There is really no timetable on that, but that's something we'll work on as we go throughout training camp to see who kind of takes the lead."

While the Colts can control how many kicks each player gets in practices, games are a trickier proposition. Whatever plan Mason devises will need to be flexible to give the Colts a clear evaluation of both kickers.

"A lot of times in the past we'd say 'Hey, kicker A has the first half, kicker B has the second half,'" Mason said. "There may be no field goals in the first half. In the first game we'll probably give each one of them a half. If it's really stacked in one way or the other then we'll try to even that out in the second game by allowing the kicker who hasn't had as many kicks to still say live to get those kicks until they have tried to even some of that out depending on how the competition's going. If it's completely even, we'll try to even out those reps as best we can. It can be difficult to make it purely even in a game setting."

Kickoffs will take on added significance in 2025, with the NFL tweaking its dynamic kickoff to put touchbacks at the 35-yard line instead of the 30-yard line. Last year, kicks were returned on average to the 29-yard line, leaving little difference between a touchback and a return. In 2025, the NFL hopes to incentivize more returns by making that a six-yard difference.

That means whoever is handling kickoffs will need to be able to accurately place kicks into certain zones that will help a coverage unit stop a returner as soon as possible. And while it's important, ultimately what the Colts' competition will come down to is who has the most success on making PATs and field goals.

"That's the first thing, because we need to convert all scoring opportunities," Mason said. "So, we're looking for who can be the most consistent, give us the best opportunity to convert as many scoring opportunities as we possibly can. Then two, would be their kickoff. ... If the kicking competition and field goals are extremely close, then a differentiating thing could be who has a little more versatility and consistency in kickoff."

News & Notes from Friday's practice

• Tight end Mo Alie-Cox, defensive end Samson Ebukam, defensive tackle Grover Stewart and cornerback Charvarius Ward all had rest days and did not participate.
• Rookie tight end Tyler Warren caught four passes from quarterback Anthony Richardson in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 periods. Tight end Will Mallory caught a handful of passes, too, including a tough grab with safety Hunter Wohler closing fast in 11-on-11.
• Both Richardson and quarterback Daniel Jones completely plenty of their passes on Friday, with those completions going to wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Anthony Gould, Adonai Mitchell and D.J. Montgomery, and tight ends Warren, Mallory and Drew Ogletree. Neither quarterback threw an interception.
• Cornerback Jaylon Jones broke up a pass in both the Colts' first and last 11-on-11 periods.
• Cornerback JuJu Brents had a pass break-up in seven-on-seven.
• Safety Cam Bynum closed quickly on a Richardson throw to Downs for a pass break-up in 11-on-11.
• Wohler and cornerback Sam Womack III also had pass break-ups in 11-on-11.
• The Colts will wrap their four-day ramp-up period with Saturday's 4 p.m. practice at Grand Park before the first off day of camp on Sunday.