Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings that he's looking forward to the competition at running back between Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw and Vick Ballard .
"It’s going to be great competition, I know that," Pagano said. "Certainly with Trent, Ahmad and Vick coming back. It’s a good problem that we have. It’s going to create great competition at the position."
Pagano said the health for Bradshaw (neck) and Ballard (ACL) will determine their usage early on this season. Both finished last year on injured reserve.
"We know what Trent is capable of doing," Pagano said. "Trent is going to be so much better in our second season with us. Just having an offseason, knowing the offense and feeling more comfortable and knowing the pieces around him and having chemistry with our offensive line. There’s going to be great competition there. You have to have one guy you call your bell cow, who is going to get the lion's share of the snaps. We have a lot of options there. It's good to have multiple backs."
Pagano said bringing back Bradshaw was a no-brainer.
"You watched him play," Pagano said. "The guy is a warrior, he's a fierce, fierce competitor and I knew once he got the diagnosis, knew what he had to go through from a rehab standpoint that there was no question once the doctor said you're going to be fine he'd come back. That's in his DNA. He doesn't know anything else. He doesn't want to do anything else."