Colts Officially Rule Out Two Starters, Status Of Three Others Uncertain
Releasing the final injury report for the Week 16 Christmas Day matchup with the Arizona Cardinals on the road, the Indianapolis Colts will officially be down two veteran starters, while the status of one other remains in the air.
According to Thursday's final injury report ahead of Saturday's matchup, the Colts officially ruled out starting center Ryan Kelly for personal reasons, and veteran safety Andrew Sendejo, who left the Week 15 win over the New England Patriots late with a concussion after a violent hit on Patriots' receiver N'Keal Harry over the middle.
Sendejo missed practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday while recovering from the concussion and was unable to clear the NFL's concussion protocol. With Sendejo out, veteran special teams standout and backup safety George Odum to step in the starting safety role. Saturday's start against the Cardinals will mark the fifth start of the season for Odum on defense.
As for Kelly, the veteran center missed the Week 15 matchup with the Patriots due to a personal matter and is still dealing with it. The Colts have stated publicly that Kelly can take as much time as he needs regarding the personal matter, so Danny Pinter — who played a whale of a game against the Patriots — will step into the starting lineup once again.
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The status of starting right guard Mark Glowinski remains up in the air, as does the status of starting cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and rotational defensive end Kemoko Turay as all three are on the Colts' Reserve/COVID-19 list. Glowinski was added Thursday, making it difficult for him to test out of protocols, assuming he is fully vaccinated.
Ya-Sin and Turay were added Wednesday, giving them both an extra day to test out of protocols and be healthy enough to suit up on Saturday.
Should Glowinski miss Saturday's game, veteran guard Chris Reed will step into the starting lineup. Isaiah Rodgers is slated to start in place of Ya-Sin if he is unable to clear protocols, while Ben Banogu appears to be in line for a helmet on Saturday if Turay can't go.
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