After committing a game-altering fumble out of the end zone in the second half of Sunday’s eventual loss to the Rams, Colts receiver Adonai Mitchell told reporters that his play was “unacceptable.”
Mitchell apparently repeated much the same message to the entire team on Monday.
“[Mitchell] took accountability in the team meeting, spoke to the team to start the team meeting,” Steichen said in his Monday news conference, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. “I had a conversation with him in my office today. Just letting him know that this moment doesn’t define who you are as a person, but he knows going forward he is going to have to earn it going forward in how he practices and how [he] prepares.”
Mitchell’s fumble was similar to what running back Jonathan Taylor did in Week 15 of last year against the Broncos, dropping the ball in celebration before crossing the goal line.
Steichen also noted that he talked to Mitchell on the sideline during the game, trying to get him through “a tough situation.”
“He felt it. We all felt it,” Steichen said. “But obviously we needed him in that game with the receivers that we had. It was a tough deal, but obviously we talked to him and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to need you here, at some point again in the game.’ So that was kind of the conversation that was taking place.”
Mitchell, a second-round pick in the 2024 draft, has recorded seven catches for 137 yards so far this year.
Could Steichen opt to bench him for the Week 5 game against the Raiders?
“Yeah, I mean he’s going to go through practice,” the head coach said. “And, like I said, he’s got to earn it going forward.”
