Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs will not play Sunday against the New England Patriots, Colts coach Shane Steichen announced Friday.
Center Tanor Bortolini, right tackle Braden Smith and wide receiver Ashton Dulin were also ruled out. All four players did not practice this week. Steichen also said left tackle Bernhard Raimann will return after missing two games with a left knee injury.
Smith will miss his first game of the season as he deals with a personal matter. Bortolini suffered a concussion in Indianapolis’ loss against Detroit last week, Dulin injured his left ankle and Downs sustained a right shoulder injury. Downs said Friday his shoulder is “fine,” and he’s considered week to week.
“Just comes down to what the coaches and the trainers think (is) best,” Downs said of being ruled out.
Sunday will mark Downs’ third missed game of the season. He sat the Colts’ first two games of the season due to a right high ankle sprain. His absence is a significant development for quarterback Anthony Richardson and the offense. Downs has emerged as Indianapolis’ top receiver this season, leading the team in targets (78), receptions (53), first-down catches (31) and receiving yards per game (59.4). He’s also tied with fellow wideout Alec Pierce with a team-high four receiving touchdowns.
The Colts will likely lean more on Pierce, veteran Michael Pittman Jr. and rookie AD Mitchell since Downs and Dulin are sidelined. Mitchell, whom the Colts selected in the second round of the draft, has 20 catches for 254 yards in 12 games. Pittman has been the team’s top receiver in recent years. He’s had an up-and-down campaign due to a nagging back injury, but is coming off one of his best performances of the season with six catches for 96 yards against the Lions. Pierce returned to practice Friday, after missing a couple of days due to a foot injury, and will be available Sunday. He leads the NFL with 23.3 yards per catch.
“We’ve had different situations this year where different guys have been up or down, or maybe even just within the flow of a game, where a guy has been down for a drive or he’s back in the locker room for a little bit,” Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Tuesday. “There’s no shortage of guys in that receiver room that are ready to answer the bell when their number is called.”
Despite Raimann’s return, Indianapolis’ offensive line is even more banged up than its wide receivers. The Colts will turn to their third different starting center this season as rookie fourth-round pick Bortolini remains in concussion protocol and veteran starter Ryan Kelly remains on injured reserve due to a knee injury. Steichen said Monday that the team was “looking at Danny (Pinter)” to replace Bortolini if the rookie was unavailable against the Patriots. Pinter, a fifth-round pick by the Colts in 2020, has started just seven games in his career.
Matt Goncalves appears to be the most likely replacement for Smith. The rookie third-round pick started three games at left tackle earlier this season, but he started 13 games at right tackle during his collegiate career at Pittsburgh.
The Colts’ offensive line changes may not stop there. Undrafted rookie Dalton Tucker has started seven straight games since replacing starter Will Fries, who broke his right tibia in Week 5. However, Tucker has allowed the third-most pressures (23) of any offensive lineman in the NFL during that span, per TruMedia. Asked Friday if he’ll make a move at right guard, Steichen simply said, “we’ll see.” If the Colts do make a change, veteran guard Mark Glowinski would probably be next in line. Glowinski signed with Indianapolis’ practice squad last week, and he started 55 games for the franchise from 2018 to 2021. He last played in an NFL game when he started for the Giants in their regular-season finale last year.
“In this league, obviously, it’s next man up,” Steichen said of his depleted offensive line. “We got a lot of confidence in whoever’s out there that we can go out and perform at a high level.”
(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
