Indianapolis Colts wide receiver AD Mitchell made two massive mistakes last week against the Los Angeles Rams, leading to the Colts picking up a 27-20 loss, their first of the season.
Mitchell’s goal line fumble through the end zone and unnecessary holding penalty on a 53-yard Jonathan Taylor touchdown run took 14 points off the board for Indianapolis. As a result, Mitchell’s ability to be trusted in Shane Steichen’s offense has been called into question.
All week, Steichen has remained consistent in his stance on Mitchell, only saying that the team was working through their game plan. His lack of commitment to either giving Mitchell the same level of responsibility or making him a healthy scratch has brought up questions over whether or not Mitchell’s role is changing.
But with Alec Pierce being ruled out with a concussion for the second straight week, it’s highly unlikely we see Mitchell among the inactives against the Las Vegas Raiders. Making him a healthy scratch would not only send a strong message of accountability to the rest of the Colts roster, but would be a mental blow to Mitchell, who is still in his second season in the NFL. Plus, the Colts typically dress six wide receivers on game days, so Indianapolis would have to feel strongly about not letting Mitchell play.
That said, it will be interesting to see if Steichen adjusts his offense to give more opportunities to Anthony Gould or Ashton Dulin, both of whom are below Mitchell on the team’s depth chart. Either way, the Colts aren’t ready to give up on Mitchell after one bad performance, as they believe he’s simply too talented to throw by the wayside.
As of right now, there is no telling if Mitchell’s mistakes have caused a reduction in his usage. But there are indicators that he will in fact play on Sunday, it’s just a matter of finding out how much.
