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Colts Injury Report: Horseshoe Officially Rules Out Andrew Luck, Clayton Geathers

By Luke Schultheis

Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) warms up passing the ball before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) warms up passing the ball before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indianapolis Colts announced their final injury report Wednesday and both starting quarterback Andrew Luck and safety Clayton Geathers have officially been ruled ‘out’ for Thursday evening’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While neither player being declared inactive comes as a surprise–given the short timeframe to clear the league’s concussion protocol, one interesting injury development is that starting wide receiver Donte Moncrief (hamstring) is listed as ‘questionable’, having only been able to practice this week on Wednesday in a limited basis.

Nov 6, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) greets quarterback Scott Tolzien (16) during warm ups before game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) greets quarterback Scott Tolzien (16) during warm ups before game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Otherwise, starting cornerback Vontae Davis (ankle) is also listed as ‘questionable’, as like Moncrief, he was able to practice Wednesday on a limited basis as well.

Without Luck, the Colts will be starting backup quarterback Scott Tolzien, who has 2 prior career starts–the most recently being 3 years ago exactly to the day on Thursday, while as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Tolzien’s backup will be Stephen Morris, who was promoted from the Colts practice squad earlier on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, expect rookie safety T.J. Green to start in the absence of Geathers, while the Colts could potentially deploy nickelback Darius Butler at safety in obvious passing situations as part of a platoon at the position.

If Moncrief is unable to go–which I think he’ll start, Phillip Dorsett would presumably assume the starting wide receiver position on the other side of T.Y. Hilton–with Chester Rogers being elevated as the team’s 3rd wide receiver.

Dec 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) makes a catch as Indianapolis Colts strong safety Mike Adams (rear) and cornerback Vontae Davis (21) defend during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) makes a catch as Indianapolis Colts strong safety Mike Adams (rear) and cornerback Vontae Davis (21) defend during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensively, the Colts could sorely use Davis at cornerback, as the team faces a prolific passing attack led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that features Antonio Brown and has simply dominated their secondary in the past.

Davis is no doubt the Colts best cornerback, but if he’s unavailable Thursday, the Colts would likely turn to returning starter Patrick Robinson and key backup Rashaan Melvin to fill the void along with Butler at nickelback.

It would eliminate any possibility of Davis being able to shadow Brown–which seems like an idea that the Colts may otherwise utilize defensively at times.

Obviously, it’s not an ideal injury situation for the Colts with their franchise player Luck already out–not to mention Geathers, as well as a number of their other best players’ availability also up in the air respectively.

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