First impressions can be the most lasting.
Of this, Nate Irving is fully aware.
So, yes, it bugs him to no end that, after three full months with his new employer, he still hasn’t been afforded the chance to make that all-important first impression.
That’s okay. The Indianapolis Colts are willing to wait. But for Irving — a free-agent inside linebacker signed in March, in the midst of a recovery from torn knee ligaments — patience has been harder to come by.
“It’s been hard for me just from a competitive standpoint,” Irving said as his new teammates took the field without him for a three-day minicamp last week.