INDIANAPOLIS — The first glimpse of the 2024 Colts is in the books.

Indianapolis dropped the preseason opener to Denver in a 34-30 game played mostly by the Colts backups on both sides of the ball, leaving plenty to still be answered the rest of the preseason.

Colts score: Indianapolis Colts drop preseason opener 34-30 to Denver Broncos

Colts secondary remains a question mark

Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard is betting heavily on the development of the young defensive backs surrounding safety Julian Blackmon and cornerback Kenny Moore II.

Moore looks as reliable as he’s ever been. Newly signed to a three-year, $30 million deal this offseason, Moore ended Denver’s first series by blowing up a short throw to Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich on 3rd-and-long, then picked off a dropped pass from Jarrett Stidham to running back Samaje Perine to end the second series, along with the starting defense’s day in general.

But there remain questions about the cornerbacks around him. Former second-round draft pick JuJu Brents, who appears to be the front-runner to join Moore as the other cornerback who never comes off the field, did not play due to a minor shoulder issue. Another second-year cornerback, Jaylon Jones, has looked like he’s in line to be the third cornerback, and Jones bounced back from an early 14-yard completion to Tim Patrick by breaking up a deep ball down the sideline to Courtland Sutton.

If one of those three players misses time, though — and the Brents injury is somewhat concerning, given the injuries that plagued him as a rookie — third-year cornerback Dallis Flowers would be the next man in line.

Flowers, who tore his Achilles tendon four games into his first season as a starter, was flagged twice for pass interference and appeared to give up at least four completions. Beyond Flowers, fifth-round rookie Jaylin Simpson and third-year veteran Darrell Baker Jr. are the next two cornerbacks, leaving few options.

The battle for the free safety spot next to Blackmon appears to have a clear front-runner.

Despite a rough week marred by an ill-advised tackle that led to an injury to slot receiver Josh Downs, Nick Cross was given the first snaps at free safety and spent much more time in the game than the rest of the starters. Cross made three tackles, including a nice stop on a toss play to avert a big gain, and broke up a throw down the seam to Dulcich. Cross was in coverage on Bo Nix’s touchdown pass to Marvin Mims, and he was unable to get over a rub route, but for the most part, Cross’s day appeared to be encouraging.

Colts vs. Broncos: 10 Colts thoughts on Anthony Richardson, Laiatu Latu, Nick Cross, more in preseason opener

Richardson gets off to slow start

Anthony Richardson’s first start in a Colts uniform since October was brief.

The Indianapolis starter played just seven snaps, completing 2 of 5 throws for 25 yards and carrying the ball once for one yard.

The results were underwhelming, but they also came in a sample far too small to draw sweeping conclusions. Richardson fired behind Michael Pittman Jr. on his first pass, then overthrew Kylen Granson on his second to force a punt on the team’s first series.

When he returned to the field, Richardson threw a strike to Mo Alie-Cox for 19 yards and found Granson on third down for 6 yards, a play that ended up short of the first-down marker because Richardson took a little too long to go through his progressions. By the time the ball got to Granson, the tight end had little room to run; he’d had more options early in the down.

All in all, Richardson appeared to be a little late in his decision-making, but it was his first game action in 10 months, and he didn’t have enough time to get in a rhythm.

Injury puts spotlight on running back depth

The Colts decided to replace Zack Moss from within this offseason, rather than adding a running back through free agency or the draft to back up Jonathan Taylor, even though Taylor has dealt with injury issues in each of the last two seasons.

Taylor surprisingly played the first two series with the offense on Sunday, carrying twice for four yards.

But the Colts did not come out of the game unscathed. Trey Sermon, the fourth-year veteran who has taken the lead in training camp to be Taylor’s primary backup, caught one pass for 12 yards before suffering a hamstring injury.

A timetable for Sermon’s return is unknown.

With the bruising Sermon out of the lineup, though, the majority of snaps went to the two young running backs competing for the No. 3 job: 2023 fifth-round pick Evan Hull and Tyler Goodson, the former Packers back Indianapolis signed midway through last season to fill the hole left open by the season-ending injury Hull suffered in his first game.

The two players turned in similar performances against Denver. Hull carried eight times for 16 yards and scored a touchdown in short yardage; Goodson had 15 yards on seven carries, a touchdown in short yardage and two catches for a single yard.

If Sermon’s hamstring injury is serious, the Colts will have to weigh the possibility of adding another player to the mix.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts vs. Broncos: Anthony Richardson, secondary, RBs in opener