With Vick Ballard lost for the season, the Colts’ running game relies heavily on Trent Richardson putting it together after a rough debut in Indianapolis last year and Ahmad Bradshaw’s surgically repaired neck holding up.
Bradshaw didn’t play in the team’s preseason opener against the Jets because of the neck and still wears a no-contact red jersey in practice, but says he’s feeling confident that his neck can hold up to the workload required of an NFL running back. He hopes to get a chance to prove that this weekend against his former Giants teammates.
“I plan on going this game or the next,” Bradshaw said, via the Anderson Herald-Bulletin. “Just to get the feel. I think I have played long enough to understand the game. It’s just getting out there and getting the feel of the motions and the game-time speed. I also want to get out and test, if possible, my neck. But, like I said, I think I have tested it enough in practice. I’ve hit guys, I’ve stood in there and blocked and I just want it to heal as much as possible and not take the unnecessary stuff.”
While no team wants to lose a player to injury in the preseason, it’s fairly important for the Colts to know whether or not Bradshaw is up to the task as soon as possible. If he isn’t, they’ll need to look for backfield help because going into the year with Richardson, Dan Herron and Zurlon Tipton isn’t the ideal way to pursue another division title.