TERRE HAUTE — Tight end Dallas Clark is expected to be in the starting lineup when the Indianapolis Colts face the Philadelphia Eagles in a nationally televised preseason game Thursday night (8 p.m., FOX).
Clark missed last week’s preseason opener with Minnesota after suffering a mild concussion in practice during the team’s mock game on Aug. 8. He returned to practice Monday afternoon and took part in both of Tuesday’s workouts.
“It’s tough being out, especially during camp, anytime really. Watching everyone work and get better is not a fun thing. But it was great to be out there, and I had a lot of fun,” he said Tuesday.
Clark has suffered other concussions during his seven-year NFL career. But he doesn’t believe that he is at risk for future problems as he gets older.
“What I’ve learned from my experiences is that concussions are the hits that you don’t expect. They’re not the blowup hits. It’s never worked out with me where it’s the big hit that’s given me anything. It’s a certain hit. And it’s one of those things that you try to protect yourself from, you try to avoid, but you have no idea because you’re just playing,” Clark said.
“I don’t think [the past concussions] are a big concern. Talking to the [doctors] and stuff like that. It’s not anything that I need to be worried about at this point in my career. It’s a very reassuring thing. I think I owe a lot to our training staff for being so cautious about concussions. Being protective, because I think it’s helped. Getting the rest and making sure everything is alright is the best thing. If you go out [to practice] too early, that’s when you start getting into trouble. I think the Colts do a very good job of giving the time needed to come back.”
• • •
• Injury report — Cornerback Kelvin Hayden re-injured his hamstring during Tuesday’s morning practice. Hayden had been having tenderness in the hamstring for the past two weeks. He did not play in last week’s preseason game with the Vikings.
“He pulled his hamstring, I’m not sure of the severity of it, but I’ll find out a little bit later once he has been evaluated,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said after the morning session. Caldwell, though, received more news before the start of the evening practice.
“He’s going to be [out] somewhere around the three-week area. That’s what the prognosis is, it could three-four [weeks]. Right in that area. So it’s just going to depend on how things go between now and then. He’s always been a guy that’s been a pretty quick healer, so hopefully the same thing will happen in this case,” he said.
Among those sitting out at least one practice Tuesday were linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, cornerback Michael Coe, cornerback Marlin Jackson, defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, defensive end Raheem Brock, defensive end Robert Mathis, running back Mike Hart, offensive tackle Tony Ugoh, offensive guard Ryan Lilja, tight end Tom Santi, quarterback Jim Sogi, tight end Gijon Robinson, offensive guard Mike Pollak, and running back Joseph Addai.
Santi did take part in the evening practice, as did Jackson. The veteran defensive back is still experiencing some soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee.
• Diem returns — Offensive tackle Ryan Diem, who injured his back in practice last week, returned to practice Tuesday morning. Diem wasn’t wearing his normal No. 71 jersey. Instead, he was sporting No. 64 and conjuring up images of former Colts offensive guard Rick DeMulling.
“My [71] jersey is at the complex [in Indianapolis]. And this is the only number that they had available,” he explained. “It would have been funny to get like a 30 or 40 number.”
Quarterback Peyton Manning got a kick out of seeing DeMulling’s old jersey.
“Hopefully, somebody got a good picture and sends that to DeMulling. He’s a great one. He helped us win a lot of games around here. Diem, [I] guess his jersey got misplaced in the one-day practice at Indianapolis in the transition. That was a nice selection by him though, going 64,” Manning said.
Diem, though, was just happy to be back out on the practice field.
“It was definitely good to be back with the guys. Got to rest my back a little bit for a few days. [It] feels good. It’s one of those things that I’m going to keep an eye on and make sure that I strengthen it as much as I can. But I should be good to go [for the Philadelphia Eagles game Thursday night],” he said.
• Roster moves — Indianapolis brought defensive end Josh Thomas back Tuesday after he had initially played for the Colts from 2004-08. He was a free agent at the end of last season, but was not re-signed at that time.
“It feels great [to be back with the team]. I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Thomas said after Tuesday’s morning workout. He added that it didn’t take him long to make up his mind when he got the call from the team’s player
personnel department.
“[Indianapolis officials asked] do you want to play for the Colts? I said sure. It was pretty simple. I was like, ‘Yeah. I’ve been watching a lot of [television] lately. I don’t know.’ I didn’t even think about it,” he said.
Despite not playing since the end of the 2008 season, Thomas — who could see playing time against the Eagles this week — said that he should be able to get himself into game shape fairly quickly.
“I fit right in [during practice]. But you’re feet are a little heavier. You’re a little gassed before anyone else. But it’s like riding a bike. It’s different from year’s past [because] we’ve got a new defense and all that. So you’ve got to learn a little more. But as far as what it takes to get it done, it’s the same stuff,” he pointed out, adding that he was teased about showing up for camp a day before the team moves back to Indianapolis for the rest of the preseason schedule.
“It’s good timing. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you held out.’ If I could just have made it one more day,” Thomas joked.
Caldwell said that bringing back the former Syracuse defensive lineman was a no-brainer.
“He has always been a solid performer for us. He’s a guy who is versatile and has a real good sense of what we do from a defensive standpoint,” the Colts coach said. “It won’t take him very long to get up to speed in what we are doing and he’s kept himself in great shape as well. The big thing is he’s a high energy, high effort type of guy who has been able to help us over the years.”
In order to make room for Thomas on the training camp roster, running back Walter Mendenhall was released. Mendenhall played collegiately at Illinois State.
• Brackett wins humanitarian award — Middle linebacker Gary Brackett has been named as the recipient of Pro Football Weekly’s 11th annual Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award. The award is given to an NFL player whose contributions to the community and charitable organizations are especially outstanding.
He was one of five finalists for the award, along with Chris Draft (St. Louis Rams), Israel Idonije (Chicago Bears), David Thornton (Tennessee Titans) and Jason Whitten (Dallas Cowboys). Brackett’s IMPACT Foundation helps to provide resources and opportunities for children and families affected by pediatric cancer.
The award is named in honor of Arthur S. Arkush, the founder of Pro Football Weekly.
Colts
Dallas Clark expected to play against Eagles; Kelvin Hayden leaves with hamstring injury
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