Colts still searching for primary return man as roster cuts loom

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts are still trying to figure out who will be their primary return men this season.

Unheralded receiver Coleman Owen has handled every punt return in the preseason and he’s had help as a kickoff returner from rookies Deion Burks and Seth McGowan.

Figuring out who will be the team’s primary return men once the regular season begins is not as easy as simply reading preseason box scores. The Colts, like all NFL teams, must cut the roster from 90 players down to 53 by 6 p.m. Sunday, and Indianapolis special teams coordinator Brian Mason will have to make his decisions at returner based on who’s available to him.

For that reason, Mason is keeping his options open.

“We’re going to use some different guys at returner throughout practice this week and into games,” Mason said.

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Owen, the sleeper in the discussion, has taken advantage of the first two preseason games.

Undrafted after a distinguished career at Northern Arizona and Ohio, Owen carved out a spot on the Indianapolis practice squad last season and eventually played in two games as a rookie, returning five kicks for 141 yards and one punt for 2 yards.

Owen entered training camp as something of a long shot, fighting for recognition behind two players, Anthony Gould and Deion Burks, who carry a bit more pedigree as players the Colts drafted. Gould, in particular, has already proven he can be a full-time punt returner in the NFL.

But a groin injury that Gould suffered in New England has opened the door for Owen to make his case. Owen is averaging 13.6 yards per punt return and a team-best 26.5 yards per kickoff return in the preseason, highlighted by a 17-yard return on Saturday on a play where he did not have a lot of space.

Owen’s setup created enough space to make an impact.

“Coleman Owen’s been great. He’s not the flashiest player but he is really savvy and instinctual,” Mason said. “Like last year, you saw a guy like Ameer Abdullah, who did an awesome job, loved coaching him, who doesn’t have the most juice or speed, but was really effective for us as a kickoff returner because of his instincts and ability to set up returns, to be able to find the opening and kind of lead the kickoff guys in the wrong direction.”

Gould remains a possibility, a player with 23 punt returns (9.8 yards per return) and 32 kickoff returns (26.7) under his belt at the NFL level.

The Colts hope he can return for this weekend’s preseason finale against the Lions to make his case. Owen has been more productive as a slot receiver in training camp, even before Gould went down with an injury, but the Keenan Allen signing last week gave Indianapolis a chance to keep at least one receiver for return purposes.

Or Indianapolis could decide the return skills are so close that the move will be made based on a receiver’s potential. Burks, the former Purdue product who was a seventh-round draft pick after a productive career at Oklahoma, has potential as a return man, although he still has trouble making the catch at times.

“Deion Burks is really talented, and he had one really big return in the joint practice,” Mason said. “He did have a big return (on Saturday) that got called back for a holding penalty. Unfortunately, we’ve got to play cleaner with some of the young guys up front, but he broke a tackle and did a really good job creating a big return, the first return of the game against the Falcons. There are little things that he’s just got to get some more experience with, to catch the ball more naturally and set some things up, but we can get that cleaned up over time.”

The Allen signing threw a significant wrench into the competition. Before Allen was in the fold, Ashton Dulin looked likely to see an expanded role on offense, a role that would have made the Colts reluctant to use him quite as heavily on special teams.

Allen’s signing likely opens up a few more options for the Colts’ best special teamer, a dynamite kick returner whose 32.3 average in 2025 would have led the NFL if he had enough returns to qualify.

Dulin is such a weapon that the Colts might use him in both return facets this season.

“We always have Ashton Dulin in our back pocket,” Mason said. “We haven’t repped him a ton on special teams because we know the kind of player he is, and we want to get other people some opportunities. … We’re going to even see what he can do as a punt returner. He’s been working that for the last two years in practice. I think he’s looked good. We’re going to get him some game experience.”

Indianapolis starting slot Josh Downs has experience as a starting punt returner; rookie running back Seth McGowan has promise as a kick returner.

The Colts have enough options that the decision will likely be made after the team whittles the roster down to 53.

And for a few wide receivers on the roster bubble, a good showing in the return game could be the skill that puts them over the top.

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 still searching for primary return man as roster cuts loom

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