HEADLINES

Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

Anthony Castonzo Back For Colts

October 4th, 2018 at 6:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Castonzo will make his Colts debut on Thursday night. He’s active against the Patriots. The eighth-year left tackle has been sidelined for most of the past few months because of a hamstring injury, one he’s twice aggravated. Frank Reich said he did not intend to use an IR spot on Castonzo, and the first-year Colts coach’s confidence in the edge blocker being ready to return soon turned out to be appropriate. Castonzo participated in three limited practices this week.

  • Indianapolis won’t, however, have the services of its top tackler. Darius Leonard, the NFL’s runaway tackles leader four games into his rookie season, will be out. The Colts tweeted the linebacker is not expected to dress against the Patriots. Both are technically active but are not going to play. An ankle injury is restricting Leonard, who has 54 tackles (seven for loss) and four sacks. He joins T.Y. Hilton, Marlon Mack and Kenny Moore among Colts who aren’t playing in Foxborough.

Colts Activate RB Robert Turbin

October 4th, 2018 at 3:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have activated running back Robert Turbin in advance of Thursday night’s game against the Patriots, the team announced. In related moves, linebacker Skai Moore and cornerback Lenzy Pipkins were promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and defensive ends Tarell Basham and Al-Quadin Muhammad were waived. 

Turbin, initially, was in line for a significant role in the Colts’ backfield this year. Those plans were derailed this summer when he was hit with a four-game suspension for performance enhancing substances.

The veteran returns to a backfield that is headlined by Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines, but he offers fresh legs on a short week for the Colts. It would not be surprising to see Turbin involved in the Colts rushing attack in his first game back.

For his career, Turbin has 1,344 yards and nine scores off of 351 carries. He also has 85 catches for 685 yards and three scores. Those totals were put on hold in Week 6 of last season when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury, but Bobby Turbo will now have an opportunity to reassert himself.

Basham’s departure comes fairly early for a third-round pick. Chosen on Day 2 of the 2017 draft, Basham has played in just one of Indianapolis’ four games this season. He suited up for 15 in 2017 but didn’t start any of those games. He recorded two sacks and forced a fumble as a rookie but only made seven tackles.

The Colts now have 2018 second-rounder Kemoko Turay as their only backup defensive end. Though, Jihad Ward was drafted to play end as a Raider. Still, it should be expected the Colts will make a move to add depth at this spot after waiving two of their backups.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/2/18

October 2nd, 2018 at 7:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Practice Squad Updates: 10/2/18

October 2nd, 2018 at 4:07pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Ingram, Edelman To Return In Week 5

October 1st, 2018 at 9:05am CST by Zachary Links

As we approach Week 5 of the NFL season, several NFL players are returning from four-game bans. As noted by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), that list includes notables such as Saints running back Mark Ingram, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving, Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget, Colts running back Robert Turbin, Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. 

Players do not count against a team’s roster max while suspended, so clubs will have to make room for these players before adding them for Week 5. There will be some tough decisions to make, but the upside is clear in most of these cases, particularly when it comes to offensive weapons like Ingram and Edelman or defensive pillars like Burfict and Irving.

Alvin Kamara should remain the focal point of the Saints’ running game, but the return of Ingram will give opposing defenses something else to think about. And, as we saw in the first three weeks of the Patriots’ season, Edelman has been sorely missed.

Hilton Has Hamstring Injury, Will Miss Week 5

September 30th, 2018 at 9:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
  • Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton had to leave the team’s loss to the Texans with a hamstring injury, and coach Frank Reich told reporters Hilton probably won’t be able to play in the team’s Week 5 game against the Patriots, according to Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The Colts will be playing on a short week on Thursday Night Football, and will be tasked with beating New England on the road without their best offensive playmaker.

Ballard Unlikely To Spend Big For Bell?

September 29th, 2018 at 6:45pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The risk Le’Veon Bell will wear down as his late-20s seasons commence should induce the Colts to stay away from the soon-to-be 27-yard-old running back in free agency, at least at the price he seeks, Nat Newell of the Indianapolis Star writes. Chris Ballard‘s repeated mantra reiterations of building through the draft makes it unlikely the Colts will trade for Bell, Newell adds. The Colts are projected to possess a staggering (and league-most) $126MM in cap space in 2019. They could more than afford Bell and do not have much in the way of proven ball-carrying talent. But the risk of not getting value from this unique free agent would make an investment risky.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/18

September 28th, 2018 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Colts To Place OL Joe Haeg On IR

September 28th, 2018 at 2:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Colts have been hesitant about placing yet-to-debut left tackle Anthony Castonzo on IR, they will move another of their key offensive linemen off the active roster.

Starting right tackle Joe Haeg will head to IR because of a high ankle sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). The Colts do not believe this is a season-ending injury. The hope is the third-year blocker can return by November, per Rapoport. Haeg cannot come off IR for eight weeks.

Haeg started three games for the Colts this season, serving as their right tackle. The team used multiple players during the preseason in an attempt to fill this role, but Haeg — who played on the right edge at times during his two previous Indianapolis seasons — ended up staying there. Austin Howard and second-round rookie Braden Smith were tried on the right side during the preseason.

A fifth-round pick during Ryan Grigson‘s final draft, Haeg has started 32 games for the Colts. He will be an IR-return candidate. This puts the Colts down two tackles for Sunday, with Frank Reich having already declared Castonzo will miss a fourth straight game due to his persistent hamstring trouble.

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