Colts week 5 injury report: Leonard and Hilton limited practice
By Daniel Davis
The Colts are diving headfirst into a divisional-round rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday Night Football and maybe getting back two of their best players for it.
The Colts Wednesday injury report was released with Geathers in the concussion protocol after the Raiders game with Darius Leonard having a limited practice and T.Y Hilton sitting out again. However, he did return to practice Thursday as he’s nursing a quad injury.
Leonard missed the game last week and his absence was felt in the front seven as the Colts didn’t get a lot of pressure on Derek Carr and a lot of runs made it into the secondary as the linebackers were turning around running towards the secondary to make tackles. Leonard was out of a red-shirt which is a good sign for his healing process. It can’t come fast enough as the Colts take on last year’s top offense in the Chiefs.
T.Y Hilton was also missed last week as the Colts struggled to get the ball deep and ultimately couldn’t get the momentum in their favor for more than a drive or two. Hilton helps keep the defense honest while also opening-up holes for the tight ends, Ebron and Doyle, to get open. Having Hilton on the field elevates the offense and forces the defense to pay attention to him.
Another receiver on the list is rookie Parris Campbell. The receiver injured his abdominal muscle in the second quarter but was able to shake it off and finish the game. Campbell leads the team in targets this year and had 8 in Sunday’s loss. Campbell didn’t practice and doesn’t have a distinction for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
Another notable name on the injury report was Marlon Mack with an ankle injury. Mack left in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury and gave way to Nyheim Hines. Of the 78 snaps, Mack only played on 28; less than 40%. Compare that to the over 60% in the previous weeks. Mack will probably be limited in practice this week but should play since it doesn’t appear to be serious in nature.
Notable injuries for the Chiefs are:
Tyreek Hill was limited in practice with a shoulder injury
Left tackle, Eric Fisher, did not practice with a groin injury
Damien Williams was at full practice after suffering a knee injury in week 2
LeSean McCoy was limited with an ankle injury.