RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesWESTFIELD – CJ Allen was excited to get onto the field for his first NFL training camp. Perhaps too excited.
Thursday of last week, the rookie second-round pick – and the Colts ’ top selection from April’s draft – was getting in his own solo conditioning work, as he had for so much of the past six weeks after Indianapolis broke from mandatory mini-camp June 11. Toward the end of his workout, he felt a slight twinge in his calf, but rather than calling it a day and heading to get treatment from the team training staff, the former All-American from Georgia got back up for another rep.
That overeagerness, he told reporters Friday, is likely what landed Allen on the physically unable to perform list to kickoff his first NFL training camp on Wednesday. Lucky for him, though, the team’s presumed MIKE linebacker – in essence, the quarterback of the defense – was cleared to return to the field Friday morning and made his way straight into the first-team defense reps against Daniel Jones’ offense.
“It definitely felt good walking out with my cleats on and being able to walk out on the blue carpet with my teammates, the linebackers. That was great,” Allen told reporters after his first training camp practice Friday. “Getting out there with the team, running around, it just felt great to get back to doing football.
“Here, it’s just about the little things, like, ‘Are you in the right gap? Or are you on step off your gap?’ Because these linemen in the league are so fast, so one step will ruin your whole play.”
Joining a defensive unit that lost both its starting linebackers – Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt – this offseason, Allen finds himself handed the reins of a defense that crumbled down the stretch in 2025, unable to support an offense that had lost its top two quarterbacks and needed a few key late-game stops to keep from closing on a seven-game losing streak. General manager Chris Ballard said heading into the offseason that his defense needed to become “younger and faster,” and his selection of Allen embodies that mindset to a T.
With at least five new projected starters compared to Week 1 a year ago, not only does the Colts ’ defense stand to look drastically different, but Allen is now charged with playing a pivotal role of that transformation.
And that starts, he said, trying to rein in his heavy southern drawl.
“The biggest part is just making sure everyone gets the call. I’m from Georgia, so I’ve got a little southern twang – I’ve got to really annunciate my words,” he said Friday with a chuckle. “But I’m just making sure we’re on the same page and being a great communicator and (someone) the guys respect.
“It’s definitely exciting. That’s how I see it. It’s a great opportunity. I know nothing’s given. I’ve got to go out and earn it each and every day, and that’s what I’m willing to do. This is a blessing. It’s everything I prayed for. It’s everything I dreamed of. Excitement, that’s how I look at it.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter .
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts rookie LB CJ Allen on starting first NFL training camp, green dot and southern accent
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