According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Indianapolis Colts starting guard left guard Jack Mewhort is ‘believed’ to have suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Saturday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles:
#Colts G Jack Mewhort, a key cog on their OL, is believed to have torn his ACL, source said. An Andrew Luck bodyguard done for the season
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 28, 2016
Mewhort was forced to leave the game in the first half and was later seen hobbling around along the sideline.
If it’s true, it’s a devastating loss to the Colts offensive line, as Mewhort was arguably the team’s best offensive lineman along with starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo.
Originally a 2nd round pick of the Colts in the 2014 NFL Draft, Mewhort has steadily become one of the league’s best offensive guards–having only missed 2 starts for Indianapolis over the past two seasons.
Specifically, per Pro Football Focus (subscription), the 3rd-year veteran was the league’s 9th best guard this past season with a +85.1 grade overall and was named as one of their Top 10 players under the age of 25 years old.
While the Colts offensive line has collectively struggled the past few seasons, Mewhort has consistently been one of the unit’s lone bright spots and was supposed to be a major part of the solution this upcoming season.
Instead, the Colts will likely have to turn to converted center Jonotthan Harrison or rookie 5th round pick Joe Haeg in Mewhort’s absence–the latter who’s recovering from an ankle injury. Both players appear to be at least serviceable enough in a starting role; however, neither one figures to be the standout that Mewhort was at the starting left guard position.
For a team that was hoping to be much improved in pass protection in order to keep starting quarterback Andrew Luck both healthy and upright, Mewhort’s loss is a major blow going forward, as he’ll be incredibly difficult to replace.
We’ll continue to update the injury news on Mewhort as more information becomes available.