AFC South Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

• Colts GM Chris Ballard said (via Andrew Walker of the team’s official site) that WR T.Y. Hilton will be “slowly brought back” into training camp as he continues to recover from low- and high-ankle sprains. 
• Colts TE Jack Doyle is “progressing well” from offseason hip surgery and is expected to be “good to go” for training camp. 
• Although Colts WR Deon Cain (ACL) is expected to be back in the mix during the offseason program, Ballard doesn’t expect Cain to be fully recovered until “midway” through the 2019 season.
• Walker mentions that the Colts could limit or hold out LB Anthony Walker and S Clayton Geathers “over the next few weeks” as a precautionary measure prior to training camp.
• Ballard also said that Colts S Malik Hooker (knee) has been “full-go” this offseason.

Jaguars

Former Jaguars LB Telvin Smith‘s high school coach Randy McPherson said he’s tried to get a hold of Smith “two or three times” regarding his unexpected decision to not play football in 2019.

″I’ve tried two or three times to reach out to him and I have not been able to get him,″ McPherson said, via John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. ″I can’t really speak for anybody else, but something is up. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if anybody knows. If he’s not playing football next year, whatever it is he’s got to fix, it’s for real.″

Jaguars DT Abry Jones said that Smith is taking a year off for “his body to get healthy” and doesn’t believe Smith is suffering from any mental issues.  

″Since I know he’s taking a year off for his body to get healthy, I just wanted to check in with him mentally and make sure there wasn’t anything I could do for him,″ Jones said. ″He knows what he’s doing. He’s not in la la land. As long as I know he’s ok mentally. There are some things he needs to get done for himself. We just got to give him support.″

Jaguars’ veteran DL Calais Campbell also said that Smith is “going to be fine” and is taking care of whatever issues he needed to address. 

″I think he’s going to be just fine. I think he’s kind of dedicating his time and efforts to take care of it,″ Campbell said.

Texans

Texans’ former third-round OL Martinas Rankin said he is competing for a starting role this offseason and believes he can make a “big impact.”

“I feel like that’s what I was brought here for. I’m not the type of guy who wants to come in and not have a big impact. It feels good that they believe in me,” said Rankin, via Aaron Wilson.