HEADLINES

Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/20/22

December 20th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Signed off Chiefs practice squad: LB Elijah Lee
  • Designated for return: RB Khalil Herbert (story)
  • Released: CB Justin Layne

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Caleb Huntley suffered a season-ending Achilles injury this past weekend, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The injury is expected to require surgery. The Falcons RB made his NFL this season and has collected 369 yards from scrimmage.

While Russell Wilson is expected to start for the Broncos on Christmas, the Broncos still decided to promote a third QB to the roster in Jarrett Guarantano. According to Troy Renck of Denver7 (on Twitter), there was enough interest from other teams (including the Cardinals) for the Broncos to decide to promote the rookie. The UDFA out of Washington State had his first professional gig with the Cardinals before catching on with the Broncos.

Colts Place RB Jonathan Taylor On IR

December 20th, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 20: As expected, Taylor has landed on IR. The Colts have last season’s rushing champion signed for one more season. Taylor will be eligible for an extension in January. Indianapolis is signing fifth-year running back Jordan Wilkins off its practice squad, Aaron Wilson of KPRC tweets. It is a two-year deal for Wilkins, Wilson adds (on Twitter).

DECEMBER 19: The Colts were without their lead running back for nearly the entire game during their historic loss to the Vikings on Saturday, and they now face the prospect of finishing the season without him. Jonathan Taylor has a high ankle sprain, and is “highly unlikely” to play again in 2022, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Taylor has battled ankle issues throughout the campaign, his least productive in the NFL so far. He had missed three games prior to Saturday, and this latest injury comes with a recovery timeline which would likely make a return before the end of the regular season improbable. Given the Colts’ 4-9-1 record, the team would have little need to take anything but a cautious approach to Taylor’s health. A meeting with team doctors will take place later today.

The former second-rounder entered the season with sky-high expectations after he led the league in rushing yards and touchdowns in 2021. He, like the offense in general, has not met those expectations, though Taylor has still managed to record 1,004 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns in a lost season. His yards per carry average (4.5, down from 5.0 and 5.5 in his two previous campaigns), however, could be cause for concern moving forward.

With Taylor likely to be sidelined for the final three games of the year, Indianapolis will continue to rely on Zack Moss and Deon Jackson at the position down the stretch. Their 37 combined carries on Saturday point to an emphasis being placed in the run game to close out the season, as quarterback Matt Ryan has struggled with turnovers and interim head coach Jeff Saturday looks to make his case for an opportunity to become the full-time bench boss in 2023.

That will likely be the next time Taylor is available, barring a change of heart between himself or the medical staff in the near future. The 23-year-old could join star linebacker Shaquille Leonard on IR after the latter’s season-ending back surgery, a procedure which marked another disappointing turn in 2022 for the Colts.

Injury Updates: Taylor, Eagles, Morse, McCoy

December 18th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Early in Saturday’s historic loss to the Vikings, the Colts saw star running back Jonathan Taylor leave the game without tallying a single carry. Tests showed that Taylor suffered a sprained ankle, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and while it was considered “nothing major,” it was enough to keep Taylor out for the remainder of the game.

In Taylor’s absence, in-season trade acquisition Zack Moss took over as the team’s lead back, assisted by Deon Jackson. Both put forth good performances for the rest of the contest, combining for 136 rushing yards on 37 carries.

With the Colts on the brink of elimination from postseason contention at 4-9-1, it’s not very surprising that Taylor didn’t risk his long-term health to return. Now the question arises of whether or not interim head coach Jeff Saturday and company will bring back Taylor at all for the rest of the season. If there’s no hope for a playoff run, will Indianapolis want to risk the long-term health of one of its keystone players or will it ride Moss and Jackson for the rest of the year?

Here are a few more injury updates from this weekend, starting with a player who didn’t even get to make an appearance:

  • Some were expecting to see Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert return from injury this week against the Bears, but ultimately, Philadelphia did not activate him. According to Schefter, Goedert is still expected to return from the injury soon, but “it’s not expected to be until next” week’s division game in Dallas. The Eagles will be excited to have their starting tight end back after relying on Jack Stoll and rookie sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra for the past five games.
  • The Bills continued to take hits to their interior offensive line today after starting center Mitch Morse was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Backup guard Greg Van Roten, who was already filling in at right guard for an injured Ryan Bates, moved to center following Morse’s departure with backup offensive tackle David Quessenberry filling the empty slot at right guard. There is reason for concern due to Morse’s history with concussions. Back in 2020, it was reported he had suffered his fifth career concussion. It’s unclear if he’s suffered any since then, but the extensive history of brain trauma should not be taken lightly by the Bills training staff.
  • Another team that had to dig deep into the depth chart due to concussions, the Cardinals saw quarterback Colt McCoy leave today’s loss to the Broncos with a concussion. McCoy was slated to fill in for the remainder of the season after Kyler Murray‘s torn ACL, so with McCoy out, Arizona turned to third-string quarterback Trace McSorley. McSorley struggled in the loss, completing less than 50-percent of his passes and throwing two interceptions, but the Cardinals didn’t have another option. The team recently signed David Blough off of the Vikings practice squad but did not have him available for today’s game. Already eliminated from playoff contention at 4-10, there’s no reason for Arizona to rush anyone back from injury. If McCoy cannot be cleared by their Christmas night matchup with the Buccaneers, McSorley and Blough will be in line to lead the team from under center.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/16/22

December 16th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor moves heading into the Saturday slate of games:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

AFC South Rumors: Gannon, Caserio, Colts

December 16th, 2022 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lovie Smith joins Denver’s Nathaniel Hackett as the first-year coaches on the shakiest ground. The Texans are 1-11-1, on pace to finish with a worse record than they did under Nick Caserio‘s first HC hire (David Culley). Smith following Culley as a one-and-done is on the radar, though the prospect of Caserio being allowed to hire a third coach in three years is also uncertain. If Caserio does fire Smith and is granted permission to stay on and hire another coach, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon will be back on the radar for the job.

Gannon was one of the Texans’ finalists for the Houston HC position this year, and Fowler adds Caserio was impressed by the then-rookie DC. The Texans bringing Gannon back into the finalist discussion might be more difficult in 2023, with Gannon’s Eagles defense making strides. This could well lead to more interested teams; Gannon already interviewed for three jobs (Houston, Denver, Minnesota) this year. The Texans did interview Josh McCown in back-to-back offseasons. Smith was not viewed as a finalist until the end of the process, leaving Gannon in Philly and McCown out of the league.

Here is the latest from the AFC South:

  • Jim Irsay said last month he wanted Jeff Saturday to stay on as the Colts‘ next full-time HC. Saturday has said he will pursue that position, should Irsay want to interview him. While an interview seems a certainty, Irsay couched his Saturday support by saying there are “great candidates out there.” “I’m looking forward to the interview process,” Irsay said this week. “I think Jeff’s a candidate, but there’s a lot of great candidates out there. I think there’s a lot of great candidates in college. I think the pool needs to be broadened somewhat more. There’s some great college coaches that may be capable. There’s some unknown coaches that may be capable.” Saturday is 1-3 in his start as Indy’s interim coach.
  • In the event the Texans go the other way with Caserio, the Titans could be a landing spot for the longtime Bill Belichick right-hand man. A GM who spoke with the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora indicated Tennessee would be an ideal fit for Caserio, given Vrabel’s Patriots background. Caserio was in New England’s front office during throughout Vrabel’s nine-season Pats tenure. Amy Adams Strunk said Vrabel will be included in the Titans’ next GM search process, and while it might look strange to see an exec who has overseen a woeful two-year stretch (Houston is 5-24-1 under Caserio) in the AFC South be considered for another top front office gig so soon, Vrabel’s presence will be important for how Tennessee proceeds.
  • Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae will hold more responsibility on Saturday’s staff going forward. The Colts‘ assistant offensive line coach will transition to the role of tight ends coach, Saturday said. Mawae will replace Klayton Adams, whom KCRA’s Michelle Dapper notes is leaving to become Stanford’s O-line coach (Twitter link). Adams will join new Cardinal HC Troy Taylor in Palo Alto. Adams, 39, coached at the college level for 14 years prior to joining Frank Reich‘s staff in 2019. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019, Mawae is in his second season on the Colts’ staff.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/22

December 15th, 2022 at 7:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/22

December 13th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: QB Carson Strong

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Nate Landman
  • Released: OL Parker Ferguson

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: LB Storey Jackson

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/22

December 13th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Colts To Start Matt Ryan In Week 15

December 12th, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 12: Any changes will need to wait for at least one more game. Saturday confirmed when speaking to the media today that Ryan will remain the starter against the Vikings in Week 15. Foles, meanwhile, will once again dress as the backup, leaving Ehlinger inactive.

DECEMBER 11: The Jeff Saturday era was marked by return of Matt Ryan as the Colts’ starting quarterback, and a win during his first game as an NFL head coach. Since then, however, the veteran’s struggles have continued, inviting questions about another quarterback change taking place.

Ryan started for the first seven weeks of the season, but he and the offense struggled immensely. A shoulder sprain necessitated the move to Sam Ehlinger in the short term, but then-head coach Frank Reich said it was intended to be permanent. Not long after, Reich had been replaced by Saturday in a highly controversial decision, bringing about a return for the longtime Falcons starter.

Despite missing two games, Ryan still leads the league in interceptions (13) and total turnovers (18). Saturday had voiced his continued support of the 37-year-old after Week 12, but admitted that things could change during the team’s bye week. Personnel moves could entail another shake-up under center.

“We’re going to look at everything – no position in particular,” Saturday said via the Indy Star’s Joel A. Erickson. “We need the best 11 on the field every time. If we think somebody gives us a better chance to win, let’s have those discussions this week.”

Sitting at 4-8-1 on the campaign, Indianapolis has been underwhelming in most aspects on offense and defense. That could lend itself to younger players at a number of positions, including Ehlinger, being given an extended look to close out the season. The status of Ryan’s shoulder could factor into the team’s decisions as well, though Saturday insisted that health is not an issue with respect to his ability to continue starting.

The other options available to the Colts, of course, is veteran Nick Foles. Acquired in no small part due to his connection with Reich dating back to their time together in Philadelphia, the 33-year-old was benched in favor of Ehlinger as Ryan’s backup in October. He dressed last week during the team’s loss to the Cowboys, however, leading some to wonder if he will see first-team action at some point. With Saturday attempting to earn the full-time HC position for 2023, decisions made for the closing games of the season will still be made with the immediate future in mind.

“It won’t be about next-year evaluation,” he said. “It will be about what gives us the best chance to win in these final four.”

Load More Posts