Indianapolis Colts Enter Bye Week Hoping to Get Healthier While Staying in Town

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts players will have four days off from Thursday through Sunday in a bye weekend off.

But they can’t go anywhere.

Head coach Frank Reich advised that due to league COVID-19 protocols, players must be tested this week. So the Colts players won’t be permitted to travel to visit family and friends.

“Fortunately for me, I don’t have to try and dissuade them because the league has basically mandated that they have to test every day, and they have to test here,” Reich said on a Monday video call. “There is just no way around that.

“To the guys’ credit, it was really great because at first when we gave that announcement last week, ‘Hey guys, just so you know, don’t plan on going anywhere because you’re going to have to stay here and test,’ I think there was about a 10-minute period where everybody was upset about it and probably still not happy about it, but everybody knows we’re in a unique year. It’s just a unique year so everybody is just biting the bullet and saying, ‘All right, so we’re staying here.’ My guess is, a lot of the guys are flying family members into Indianapolis to spend time here as opposed to going home.”

The Colts (4-2) rallied from a 21-0 deficit to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 31-27 on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. It’s the largest home comeback win in franchise history.

Because the Colts have several players nursing injuries, the early bye allows extra time for some of them to get healthy. Reich said the status of each player will be evaluated when the team resumes normal practice next Monday before a road trip to face the Detroit Lions (2-3).

All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard has missed the last two games with a groin injury suffered in the first half of a Week 4 win at Chicago. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox missed Sunday with a knee injury. Reserve offensive tackle Chaz Green was also inactive with a back injury.

Linebacker Matthew Adams has been on injured reserve since Week 2 with an ankle injury. Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., a second-round draft choice, is also on IR after undergoing surgery for compartment leg syndrome on his calf after a Week 3 game.

Pittman sounded optimistic about his recovery in a recent tweet.

Ran for the first time on the turf today 🙌🏽
— MPJ (@MikePitt_Jr) October 17, 2020

“No injuries from the game (Sunday), so that’s good,” Reich said. “Hopefully we get a few of the guys coming back. We’ll see how they keep progressing. Mo, Chaz Green, Darius, we’ll see how Matt Adams and Pittman are doing. They’ve all been making good progress. Hopefully most, if not all of those guys, will be ready to go versus Detroit.”

He was later asked about defensive end Kemoko Turay, who has been on injured reserve this season as he continues to mend from surgery on a fractured ankle suffered early last season.

“Making good progress, he’s another guy that I would put in that list,” Reich said. “I didn’t mention his name, but making good progress. We’ll see after the bye whether he’s ready for Detroit or not. I’m not sure about that yet, but he’s making good progress.”

Reich reiterated that while the players have some time off, they should stay focused on preparation.

“That’s really one message to the team,” he said. “Even though it’s our bye week, we’re not on vacation. We’re not on vacation. It’s a bye. So we still have our guards up. We’re still learning, growing, thinking – getting our bodies right, minds right, but you do get more rest. In that sense yes, celebrate (a win) a little bit, but in another way, we’ve got to keep learning. We’ve got to keep learning, we’ve got to keep getting better.”

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)

Add us as a preferred source on Google