Colts vs. Falcons: Two already ruled out

The Colts have plenty of players on the injury report for Sunday. Unfortunately, their best defensive player has already been ruled out.

Sunday will be a tough game. It is the first game of the year at home for the Colts, and it’s against a team that played in the Super Bowl not so long ago. But it will be even tougher because the Colts will be without their best defensive player in Darius Leonard.

Leonard has been ruled out of the game with a concussion. Because of that, it will be very hard for the rest of the team to make up for his loss. But the job falls to Bobby Okereke, a rookie out of Stanford. He has had an up and down start to his career, but he gets a big opportunity on Sunday.

The other player ruled out is Jabaal Sheard. Sheard is still trying to come back from his knee surgery. He did practice every day this week in a limited capacity. His return is coming closer, but he still has some work that needs to be done.

Three other players are listed as questionable. They are Marlon Mack, T.Y. Hilton, and Jonathan Williams. It would be surprising if Williams played with the rib injury, but the Colts definitely need the other two players to be out there if they want to win.

Mack has a calf injury, and only practiced today in a limited capacity. Mack has been brilliant so far this season. He is the main focus of the run game, and the Colts would love for him to suit up. If he can’t go, it’ll be up to Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins.

Hilton has a quad injury. He did practice every day this week, but didn’t do a full practice at all. Hilton played through a hamstring injury at the end of last season, so his pain threshold is high. He should be able to go on Sunday. He’s their number one receiver, so they need him out there.

Hopefully all three of these guys can play. If they can’t, this game becomes immensely tougher to win.