INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts could be adding a veteran edge rusher to their defense very soon.
A blue No. 58 jersey, with Trent Cole underneath it, was spotted at Monday's practice.
It was Cole's return to practice, the first time he's participated since going on injured reserve after Week Three.
Cole is the team's most realistic option to be the "injured reserve, designated to return" candidate in 2016.
Each team can use the designated to return tag on one IR player.
The Colts are currently using an exemption to see where Cole is at physically practice wise before deciding if/when to activate him to the 53-man roster.
That window started Monday and lasts for three weeks. Once the three-week timeframe is complete, the Colts must decide whether to elevate Cole or keep him on IR for the rest of the season.
An IR player that is allowed to return during a season must spend at least eight weeks away from the playing field.
Cole has fulfilled that requirement.
The Colts enter December still in search for a more consistent pass rush.
In two games this season, Cole did not record a sack and had three tackles. Cole had 3.0 sacks in 14 games last year.
Any extra body coming off the edge is needed right now, even with the Colts not playing some of the league's better passing teams to close out the season.
"Trent's the player that's been designated to return to practice," GM Ryan Grigson said on his radio show Monday night.
"We'll see how he responds physically over this timeframe. You have three weeks to activate him or not. So we're just being prudent and making sure that Trent is trending in the right direction and that he'll be able to be effective and play at a high level out there physically."
