The Colts are going to have a few welcome returns in practice this week.
Not only will quarterback Andrew Luck begin practicing this week as he returns from shoulder surgery, but they are close to getting center Ryan Kelly back on the field.
Kelly did some work in practice last week as he comes back from foot surgery, but the hope is that he’ll be available this week against the 49ers. That helps, since his replacement, rookie Deyshawn Bond, was lost for the season to a torn quadriceps muscle.
But all eyes will be on Luck, as he does his first work with the group since his January surgery.
“He’s making great progress,” Pagano said of Luck during his radio show, via Scott Horner of the Indianapolis Star. “Everybody has to understand he’s not going to come back out and take all the first-team snaps. We have to integrate him back into practice. It’d be great just to have him out there with his teammates.”
They’re expected to start Jacoby Brissett again, for the fourth straight week after he replaced Scott Tolzien.