WESTFIELD — The Colts offense has been hunting a day like Friday.

Frustrated into inconsistency by the Indianapolis pass rush for most of training camp, Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was on fire, completing 14 of 17 throws in the last practice before the preseason opener, a session that included four touchdown passes.

Third-year wide receiver Alec Pierce made the biggest plays.

Pierce beat Jaylon Jones deep down the right sideline on the second play of 11-on-11 work, shook off Jones grabbing a handful of Pierce’s jersey and went up to get a deep ball from Richardson for a gain of 35 yards.

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He followed up that catch with a sliding grab over the middle and an improvisational grab in 7-on-7 drills, altering his route to match a scrambling Richardson, and then finished off the practice with two more catches on the first-team offense’s final drive of the workout. Pierce picked up roughly 15 yards on a crossing route, then elevated to make a leaping catch in the red zone for a 15-yard touchdown a play later.

“Alec’s had a hell of a camp,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said.

Pierce was far from the only receiver making plays. Richardson completed five passes to Michael Pittman Jr., including a fourth-down touchdown to end practice, three to Pierce, three to AD Mitchell, three to Trey Sermon and one to Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor’s catch looked like a touchdown, a ball up the left sideline that Taylor turned on the jets to reach the end zone, and Sermon added the other touchdown grab on the day.

In addition, Richardson scrambled for a score on a play where he held onto the ball a little too long in the pocket, saw an opening and used his speed to get into the end zone.

In 11-on-11 drills, he put only one throw in danger, an underthrown ball to the end zone that cornerback Dallis Flowers nearly picked off, although the back judge came running into the play to signal incomplete, leaving Flowers incensed at the call. Richardson did throw one interception in 7-on-7 drills, leaving a throw high enough for Kenny Moore II to pick in the end zone.

Who will replace Josh Downs in the slot

Indianapolis lost starting slot receiver Josh Downs to a high ankle sprain on Wednesday, and although the Colts had other options, Mitchell was the team’s initial answer in the slot.

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Mitchell had worked exclusively as an outside receiver in training camp to this point.

But Mitchell’s ability to separate from defensive backs after making his cut at the top of his route was one of the reasons Indianapolis drafted the Texas product in the second round, and that ability to separate is a useful skill in the slot.

“The slot position, there’s certain body types (that normally play there), but you can put anybody in the slot,” Steichen said. “It’s all about what route concept you’re running, where you want certain guys. Those guys are all interchangeable.”

Overly physical

Two of the three cornerbacks competing for playing time at the two starting spots outside of Moore have struggled to avoid flags for stretches of training camp.

Jones was the player under fire on Friday.

In addition to grabbing Pierce’s jersey — a fruitless exercise considering Pierce went up and got the ball anyway — Jones committed pass interference on a deep ball to Pittman, shoving the team’s No. 1 wide receiver hard enough that he couldn’t leap to make an attempt.

Colts injury report

The Colts are not putting an estimated date on the return of Downs, who suffered a high ankle sprain after being dragged to the ground by Nick Cross during a 7-on-7 drill on Wednesday.

“I’m not going to put a timetable on his return, but I know he’s going to attack his rehab like crazy,” Steichen said. “He’ll be back.”

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and cornerback JuJu Brents were held out of practice for rest. Brents was spotted on the stationary bike at one point.

Defensive end Tyquan Lewis and tight end Will Mallory returned to practice on Friday, along with linebacker Liam Anderson and safety Kendell Brooks.

Wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring), linebacker Jaylon Carlies (hip) and defensive end Genard Avery (upper leg) also missed practice.

Quick hitters

Third-year tight end Jelani Woods made a pair of nice plays, elevating to make catches on intermediate routes from backup quarterback Joe Flacco. … Flacco finished 9 of 10 with the second-team offense, including a practice-ending touchdown to D.J. Montgomery. … Anthony Gould, Dallis Flowers and Ethan Fernea returned punts in the absence of Downs. … Sixth-round rookie Micah Abraham had a nice blitz against Sam Ehlinger. Abraham is developing as a nickel behind Moore.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts camp: Alec Pierce deep, Adonai Mitchell in slot spark big day