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'No slacking': Colts CB Marvell Tell opted out but kept on working

Marvell Tell doesn’t believe his one-year hiatus from the Indianapolis Colts was much of a hiatus at all.

Even though the 2019 fifth-round pick opted out of the 2020 season for personal reasons having to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, he never took a break from football. The soon-to-be 25-year-old safety-turned-cornerback kept grinding, considering the year away from the team an “extended offseason.”

The lanky (6-2, 195 pounds) Tell put himself through a slew of defensive back drills, including those intended to improve his speed in and out of breaks. He worked on developing softer hands and “kept my head in the playbook.