{"id":249637,"date":"2025-10-24T23:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T23:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249637\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T23:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T23:48:10","slug":"ad-mitchell-seeks-to-regain-colts-trust-i-hope-i-havent-played-my-last-offensive-snap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249637\/","title":{"rendered":"AD Mitchell seeks to regain Colts\u2019 trust: \u2018I hope I haven\u2019t played my last offensive snap\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 AD Mitchell knew he had to say something to his teammates and coaches. He owed them that much. The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver suddenly became the talk of the NFL for all of the wrong reasons. A few seconds was all it took for Mitchell to turn the best play of his career into the worst. A dazzling catch for what should have been a 76-yard go-ahead score, his first touchdown in the NFL, in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, was reduced to a 75-yard reception and touchback when Mitchell celebrated prematurely by sticking the ball out<\/a> near the goal line and fumbling it through the end zone.<\/p>\n

There were no excuses for what he\u2019d done. No justification to mitigate his mistake.<\/p>\n

Colts coach Shane Steichen had just gone over the team\u2019s \u201cletters and logos\u201d slogan that was implemented to remind players to run the ball into the end zone, where a team\u2019s letters and logos are painted, and Mitchell still committed the ultimate football sin. Less than 24 hours after his indefensible gaffe, he stood before his team and asked for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going to meet about it anyway, and that\u2019s pretty much the only way to get through it,\u201d Mitchell told The Athletic. \u201cFirst, you have to acknowledge what you did wrong and take accountability. I know people want to ask me like, \u2018Do I still look back at that? Do I still think it\u2019s my fault?\u2019 Hell yeah, I do. There ain\u2019t a moment when I don\u2019t think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s fumble was one of two touchdown-erasing mistakes in the Colts\u2019 lone loss of the season. The other was a brutal holding penalty that erased a 53-yard go-ahead touchdown run by running back Jonathan Taylor in the fourth quarter. In the weeks since then, Mitchell has had to look inward more than ever before as he\u2019s tumbled down the depth chart amid the Colts\u2019 6-1 start.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou kinda get lost when you don\u2019t get that opportunity, so I\u2019ve just been trying to cherish every moment and just make the most of every moment I get because I don\u2019t know when I\u2019m gonna get that s\u2014 again,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI hope I haven\u2019t played my last offensive snap.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no longer a given how much Mitchell will play or if he\u2019ll even play at all. The reality is that Indy will try to move to 7-1 against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, with or without him in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean s\u2014, bro, it ain\u2019t easy, especially just going back over my career,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis is the most adversity I\u2019ve ever faced, pretty much at the top of where I always wanted to get to (in football) \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be a liar if I said it doesn\u2019t get to me. I\u2019m human.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Mitchell\u2019s Week 4 disaster, he\u2019s hardly seen the field. Mitchell was active in Week 5, but despite starting receiver Alec Pierce being sidelined due to a concussion, Mitchell still only played six snaps \u2014 all in the fourth quarter. If the Colts hadn\u2019t blown out the Las Vegas Raiders, he likely wouldn\u2019t have checked in. Steichen, who\u2019s repeatedly stated Mitchell has to \u201cearn it,\u201d chose to play core special teamer Ashton Dulin at wide receiver over Mitchell, a 2024 second-round pick. When Pierce returned to the lineup in Week 6, Mitchell was inactive for the first time in his career. And last week, in Mitchell\u2019s return to SoFi Stadium, with starting receiver Josh Downs out with a concussion and Dulin sidelined with a chest injury, Steichen still turned to 2024 fifth-round pick Anthony Gould before he relied on Mitchell. Gould played 39 offensive snaps, compared to just five for Mitchell.<\/p>\n

In fact, Mitchell wound up being Dulin\u2019s replacement, filling in for two reps as a gunner on punt coverage against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 23-year-old hadn\u2019t played a special teams snap since he played at Georgia. Mitchell said at one point in his career, \u201che always wanted to play gunner,\u201d so he was thrilled to just get his number called. Deep down, though, he\u2019s still yearning for his next real opportunity at receiver.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in the right mindset ever since that thing happened a couple weeks ago,\u201d Steichen said. \u201cHe\u2019s attacked it the right way. He\u2019s going about his business the right way. And then as soon as he continues to get more and more opportunities, it\u2019ll happen again for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Second-year wide receiver AD Mitchell is awaiting his next opportunity to help the 6-1 Indianapolis Colts. (Christine Tannous \/ IndyStar \/ USA Today via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Veteran wide receiver Laquon Treadwell praised Mitchell for being a pro, regardless of his role, which he explained is a lot harder than it looks. Treadwell was a first-round pick in 2016, but these days he\u2019s on the practice squad, occasionally getting called up on game days. The 30-year-old said it can be challenging to stay confident when the opportunities you once had are reduced, so he\u2019s remained in Mitchell\u2019s ear, teasing him about having better gunner reps \u2014 Treadwell had two tackles as a gunner last week \u2014 and reminding him of his potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tell him that regardless of the highs and lows, I\u2019ll never change on him,\u201d Treadwell said. \u201cIn this business, if you have a bad game or bad moment, it can feel like guys don\u2019t look at you the same. But I try my best to be a good role model for that, just to let him know that I\u2019m someone he can lean on. I\u2019ve been through a lot, and at the end of the day, one play doesn\u2019t define your career. He\u2019s still a great player.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there is a silver lining throughout all of this, it was the 8-yard catch Mitchell had last week on his lone target. That play won\u2019t be remembered by the masses, but it meant a lot to Mitchell because it was his first catch since his Week 4 nightmare. The scary part, Mitchell admitted, is that he doesn\u2019t know when the next one will come, especially with Downs and Dulin trending toward playing this Sunday.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest lessons Mitchell said he\u2019s learned since his fumble in L.A. \u2014 besides \u201cjust hold on to the ball\u201d \u2014 is that he is expendable. The Colts haven\u2019t missed a beat since sending him to the bench and boast the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL at 33.1 points per game. Mitchell is well aware that they don\u2019t \u201cneed a wideout,\u201d but when the chance comes for him to play meaningful offensive snaps again, he vowed to be ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all I ever done, dog,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis is pretty much the only thing I\u2019ve ever really found joy in besides just being around my family. I hated school, so I knew I wasn\u2019t gonna work a regular job. But now that this is my job, I just can\u2019t take it for granted. I gotta make this work.\u201d<\/p>\n