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Grigson on Rehabbing Players: ‘It’s Tough’

By Luke Schultheis

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Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson spoke today on the team’s notable players, who are still rehabilitating from significant injuries.

Players like Vick Ballard, Robert Mathis, and Donald Thomas, who have yet to be cleared for preseason action and could be losing ground at their positions on the depth chart (although not as much in Mathis’ case):

"“It’s tough. I mean there’s no other way to slice it,” said Grigson today. “We have to be able to at some point, be able to compare them to other people at their position group, and the only way to do that is by playing football. By practicing, being out there, and competing.”“It’s a tough spot for any of these guys I think,” added Grigson. “I feel for them, and I’ve been there before and it’s not fun to not be out there. But they also have to be 100% healthy. Otherwise, it makes no sense to throw them out there to get re-injured.”"

Since signing a 4-year, $14 million dollar contract with the Colts in 2013, Thomas has played in just 2 games for the team, having suffered two consecutive season-ending quadriceps tears to the same muscle.

The 8-year veteran has to prove he can stay healthy this season or it could be the end of a career for the 29 year old offensive guard. Right now, he remains on preseason PUP.

Still, Grigson has been encouraged by Thomas’ weekly progression this offseason:

"“Yeah, he’s progressing at every field test we do. He’s getting better. His feet looked really good the other day when he was working with our trainers. But again, I’ve got to leave that up to the medical people, from the doctors, and he’s got his own doctors in-state and people who did the surgery so it’s kind of a conglomerate. But, it’s a day-to-day thing.”"

Ballard knows Thomas’ pain all too well, as he has also suffered two consecutive season-ending injuries with a torn ACL in 2013, as well as an Achilles tear just last season. The former is a bit further along, as he’s not on preseason PUP and could potentially see some action in the team’s last preseason games.

It’s worth noting that despite only playing in 1 game the past two seasons, Ballard at age 25 is still only two seasons removed from a 2012 rookie season in which he rushed for a team-high 814 rushing yards.

Even in what figures to be a crowded backfield, Ballard could push for backup reps behind Frank Gore if fully recovered. While that’s still a big if coming off two consecutive season-ending injuries, he’s not too far away from actually playing in live game action:

"“He’s going to keep getting ramped up,” said Grigson. “I think he’s pretty much healed, but again, we’ve got to get him slowly indoctrinated into this whole thing. Hopefully, get him some live game reps. Live action.”"

There’s no question that both Thomas and Ballard likely want to be out there sooner rather than later, but it sounds as if their respective progress is fairly encouraging all things considered.

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