Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano indicated today that tight end Dwayne Allen, who has missed the past 2 games with an ankle injury, could return to practice on Wednesday. He’s officially listed as “questionable”.
Nov 3, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen (83) celebrates touchdown during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Indianapolis Colts defeat the New York Giants 40-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
The Colts’ tight end suffered an ankle sprain early in Week 11’s loss against the New England Patriots and hasn’t played since. Even despite missing the past two games, Allen still leads the team in touchdowns with 7 on the season. He has 26 receptions for 374 receiving yards to go along with his team-high touchdown total.
However, it may be in the ground game, where the offense may miss Allen the most, as he’s consistently been the best run blocker among the team’s tight ends including Coby Fleener and Jack Doyle. While Coby Fleener has eclipsed 125+ receiving yards in 2 of the past 3 games in Allen’s absence, the latter remains the offense’s most complete tight end and has consistently been one of the NFL’s best blocking tight ends.
According to ProFootballFocus, Dwayne Allen has an overall grade of +10.2, which effectively places him as a distant 2nd behind the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski (+21.4) among the NFL’s best graded tight ends this season. Unlike Gronkowski; however, Dwayne Allen also ranks Top 5 in run blocking with a +5.5 grade. All-in-all, it’s pretty impressive when one considers that Allen hasn’t even played in the Colts’ past 2 games.
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Pagano also had an update on cornerback Vontae Davis, who suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win against the Washington Redskins. He’s in the league’s concussion protocol, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be available for this upcoming Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. If he can’t go, it will be a significant blow to a Colts’ secondary that must find a way to contain Browns’ superstar wideout Josh Gordon.
It’s also worth noting that per Pagano, starting right guard Hugh Thornton is still “week-to-week“, and 4th-year veteran Joe Reitz will continue to start in his absence if he’s unable to play this Sunday.