Zak Keefer | IndyStar

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INDIANAPOLIS – He played with a fear last season he never could fully rid himself of. When Henry Anderson lined up, hand in dirt, eyes forward, his mind wasn’t fixed on the offensive tackle his 301 pounds were about to smash in to; it was on his right knee and the pain that was coming.

No more.

“It’s nice to, when I’m on the field, in my stance, be thinking about my job and what I’m supposed to be doing instead of what I can do to protect my knee on this play,” the Colts’ third-year defensive tackle said Wednesday.

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The past two years have tested Anderson’s patience and his resolve. He went from breakout rookie in 2015 to, in a single play, the operating table, victim of a torn anterior cruciate ligament that cut short his promising debut season. It shelved him for almost a year. Anderson’s 2016 campaign, in his words, were a waste. Late in the season, in a quiet moment in the locker room, Anderson graded it with a dose of honesty.

He gave himself an F.

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Now he gets his reprieve, another shot to build upon his sterling start two years ago. Remember, Anderson had eight solo tackles in his first NFL game. He started all nine games that year, made 35 tackles — 28 solos — and registered one sack and two passes defended. He was playing like a third-round steal, a potential building block this defensive line has long craved.

Then his right knee got caught in the bottom of a scrum, buckled and his season died in an instant.

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“It felt like the bottom of my leg was dangling from my knee,” he recalled months later.

By the time he went down, in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos, Anderson ranked in the league’s top five among 3-4 defensive ends in tackles, defensive stops and QB hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. Even with his injury, Anderson’s been the Colts’ highest-graded front-seven run stopper each of the past two years. That speaks to his potential more than it does the Colts’ dearth of capable run-blockers. He hasn’t been healthy since Nov. 8, 2015.

Now he is.

Anderson’s 2017 training camp couldn’t be more different than his 2016 training camp, and that’s a good thing. He wasn’t fully cleared yet then, so he watched, he waited, he rehabbed. He returned in Week 3, but was never close to the same player. He tweaked his other knee in October and missed three more games. He couldn’t get it out of his mind.

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“Certain movements would bother it,” Anderson said. “I didn’t want to go out there and put it in positions that hurt.”

His coaches noticed.

“A year ago, we didn’t baby him, necessarily, but I know that he was a little guarded in his approach,” said Colts defensive coordinator Ted Monachino. “Now he has no reservations about going full speed.”

It’s easy to tell. Anderson hasn’t missed a single practice thus far, and has been running with the first-team defense since camp commenced July 30. It’s hard not to see him in the starting lineup come Sept. 10, when the Colts open the regular season in Los Angeles against the Rams.

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Most significant: He’ll do so fully and finally recovered from the knee injuries that cost him a year and a half of football.



“It’s definitely nice to just be able to use all of my brain to focus on my job and not my knee,” he said.

Hard to get Luck to go home

Apparently, Andrew Luck is sleeping at the Colts’ West 56th Street headquarters these days.

OK. Not really. But Vontae Davis is trying to make a point, so we’ll let him. Asked about his star quarterback, who’s largely been absent from the practice field during training camp this summer, the Colts’ top cornerback said he still sees him “all the time” at the team complex.

“It’s hard to get him out of the building,” Davis said of Luck. “I’m pretty sure he sleeps here. When I get to the building, he’s here. When I leave, he’s here.”

The Colts’ stance on Luck remains unchanged: They expect to bring him off the physically unable to perform list before the regular season begins, but beyond that, his status remains uncertain. That includes whether or not he’ll be ready to start the regular-season opener.

First-year General Manager Chris Ballard told the NFL Network on Wednesday that Luck has progressed in his throwing program the past two weeks, rebuilding his throwing motion and his strength. The team remains intent on not allowing the QB to skip or rush any steps of his rehab.

Luck spoke to the media the day the team reported to camp. He said then he was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“There’s no reason to freak out,” Luck said. “I don’t know what day it’s going to be, I don’t know what week, I don’t know when, but I definitely will be better.”

Davis ranks Hilton

As for Davis, he and the rest of the Colts’ defense will welcome the Detroit Lions on Thursday for the first of two joint practices. The teams will wrap that up with Sunday’s preseason opener.

In accordance with the company line — “We’re ready to hit somebody else” — Davis will get a break from seeing his favorite Pro Bowl receiver across the line of scrimmage every day.

“Me, personally, I’m tired of chasing T.Y. Hilton across the field all day,” Davis said.

The two have put on a solid show throughout camp, highlighted by a scuffle this past week that seemed to enliven practice. Both are going into their sixth seasons with the Colts, anxious as ever to further establish themselves among the best at their craft. Facing each other every day in August doesn’t hurt.

“I think he’s one of the most competitive receivers I’ve ever played against, and I’ve been in the league for a while,” Davis said of Hilton. “I played against Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, a lot of future Hall of Famers. T.Y., I think he’s a top five, top 10 receiver in this league. I like his competitiveness and he hates losing.”

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.