Colts to hold joint practices with Cardinals, Bengals in preseason

INDIANAPOLIS — For the second consecutive season, the Colts will hold joint practices with two teams.

Indianapolis will hold two practices with the Arizona Cardinals at Grand Park before the two teams play each other on Aug. 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

A few days after the game against the Cardinals, the Colts will travel to Cincinnati for one joint practice with the Bengals in advance of the preseason finale between the two teams on Aug. 22 at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium.

The Colts have hosted at least one joint practice at Grand Park for a long time now.

But new head coach Shane Steichen appears to prefer as many joint practices as possible. Indianapolis practiced against Chicago at Grand Park for two days during training camp last year, then practiced against the Eagles for a day in Philadelphia before the preseason finale.

NFL teams have increasingly scheduled joint practices with each other because the practices offer teams a chance to play a different scheme and system in a controlled environment, rather than the live snaps that take place in preseason games. Teams spend most of training camp going against themselves; the joint practices offer competition and challenges that are not available from the same roster.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts to hold joint practices with Cardinals, Bengals in preseason