Colts leaving nothing to chance with Luck
The Indianapolis Colts are taking no chances with Andrew Luck — or Adam Vinatieri.
Coach Frank Reich said Friday he expects the starting quarterback to miss at least three more practices with a strained left calf, likely keeping him off the field until Wednesday, when the Cleveland Browns come to town for a joint practice.
“He is continuing to progress with his strength, which is awesome,” Reich said on a conference call. “But there still is a degree of pain that he is not comfortable with. Obviously, we are not comfortable with putting him out there.”
The injury kept Luck out of the Colts’ offseason workouts and he was sidelined again after practicing three times over the first four days of training camp, though he never took a snap in full team drills.
Backup Jacoby Brissett has worked with the starting offense. Brissett played most of the first quarter in Thursday’s 24-16 loss at Buffalo before turning things over to Phillip Walker and Chad Kelly, the nephew of former Bills star Jim Kelly.
The Colts also acknowledged Friday that Vinatieri, 46, was held out of Thursday’s game because of a knee injury.
MORE TROUBLE FOR BROWNS’ CALLAWAY >> Cleveland wide receiver Antonio Callaway has stepped out of bounds again.
The NFL suspended Callaway four games without pay for an unspecified violation of the league’s policy and program on substance abuse. Callaway will sit out the first four regular-season games.
The 22-year-old can practice and play in preseason games before his suspension begins.
He will be eligible to return to the Browns’ active roster on Sept. 30, the day after the team plays in Baltimore.
EAGLES DEAL ROOKIE FOR DE HAROLD >> The Philadelphia Eagles have acquired defensive end Eli Harold in a trade that sent rookie offensive lineman Ryan Bates to the Buffalo Bills.
Harold has four seasons of NFL experience and proved to be the odd man out in Buffalo after signing with the Bills in April. The 25-year-old has nine sacks in 61 career games, including 24 starts.
Bates was an undrafted free agent out of Penn State, where he started 12 games at tackle last season.