According to head coach Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts 2nd-year wideout AD Mitchell ‘will have to earn it going forward,’ with his upcoming playing time and availability now in question for Sunday’s game (via FOX59/CBS4’s Mike Chappell):
The talented, yet clearly still maturing wideout had two major 2nd half mishaps during Sunday’s close road loss to the Los Angeles Rams. None bigger than his goal line celebratory gaffe of a fumble early in the 3rd quarter, when he would’ve otherwise scored a ‘Sportscenter top plays’ worthy 56-yard deep touchdown pass.
The offensive holding obviously was also egregious (as star running back Jonathan Taylor had broken off a 50+ yard potentially game-winning rushing touchdown)—with his blocking technique being pretty poor in execution, but it was only made worse because it was coupled with the earlier bonehead play near the goal line.
In totality, Mitchell’s blunders caused the Colts -14 points off the board. They lost 27-20 to the Rams.
Post-game, Mitchell showed a lot of remorse and humility and addressed his teammates on Monday morning following his critical on-field mistakes, which clearly cannot happen again going forward.
However, given that it just happened to his teammate Taylor late last season—when Mitchell was a rookie, and it’s surprising to see such a mental mistake happen so soon again. Steichen indicated that following Taylor’s gaffe last season, he previously talked to the team about running to the ‘logos and letters’ of the end zone before celebrating prematurely. Apparently, Mitchell didn’t quite take that messaging to heart enough.
For what it’s worth, Mitchell will still practice with the team this week, but whether he’s active for game day could depend on if starting wideout Alec Pierce (concussion) clears the league’s concussion protocol and is available for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ideally, there should be some ‘player accountability’ element imposed on Mitchell, but his teammates also shouldn’t be punished in the process, as if Pierce is unable to go, the talented size-speed wideout is the closest thing to him in consistent deep threat ability on the Colts active roster. Having neither Pierce nor Mitchell available would be a big loss to the Colts’ passing game collectively.
Mitchell’s arguably their most talented wideout in sheer speed, athleticism, and ability, but has a ways to go developmentally regarding his consistent on-field focus and proper execution.
Last year, the Colts seemed to have different standards for holding certain players accountable. In the past under Steichen, backups had even been cut for major issues (i.e., DJ Baker Jr. and Deon Jackson), but it seemed as though last year, certain players were benched (i.e., Anthony Richardson) while other underperforming players, some who showed their own maturity shortcomings, were allowed to continue to play through it.
In that regard, making an example at least for a game or two for Mitchell to be a healthy scratch could arguably make some sense to set the early season player accountability tone, especially if Pierce is available for Sunday’s game.
However, the Colts would still have to maintain that consistency in enforcing that same high standard of player accountability throughout the year.
