Colts’ Deon Cain looking for statement game this week

While every game is important in the NFL, this Sunday will have even greater importance for Deon Cain, who is looking to have a desperately needed big game.

Things have not gone as planned so far in the young career of Colts receiver Deon Cain. Last year he suffered the ACL tear in the first preseason game of the year. And while he rehabbed and trained to get back on the field this season, he has found himself in what we could firmly call a less than desirable position. This, of course, culminated in him being a healthy scratch for the game against Denver two weeks ago.

Yet while Cain has struggled to find his place on this Colts squad, other receivers have seemed to make great strides over the course of the season. Most notably Zach Pascal, who came onto the scene with his big two-touchdown game against Houston. Also impressing the staff was the play of Parris Campbell, who grasped a very large part of the offense for the Colts last week in Pittsburgh.

Ultimately, this Colts group of wide receivers is stacked, and when all healthy the top 5 would probably look like: T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Zach Pascal, Chester Rogers, and Parris Campbell. The one issue though, is that even if Deon Cain deserves one of those roster spots, there just might not be any room.

Which brings us to this Sunday. As it stands right now, the Colts will be without Hilton and Campbell, and even if Funchess is able to come back this week, it would more than likely be a smaller role. This, of course, means that Cain is going to get a larger snap count this week, and as such is going to have his opportunity to assert why he deserves to be a key part of this team.

The Colts showed that they were not afraid to air it out when Brian Hoyer stepped in at quarterback last week as well, so Deon Cain will definitely, or at least should have more chances this week to make some plays.

While this is only his second season in the league, this game will be pivotal for the direction of Cain’s career moving forward. When Cain found his way onto the active roster the first game this year versus the Chargers, many people might have wrote him in as a regular to stay there. But now, most are second guessing.

The good news for Cain, he has an opportunity to make some plays this Sunday and show people what he can do. He has a chance to put some good film on tape, and build the argument for why he should stay on the active roster even when the guys like Campbell and Funchess return. The thing with opportunities though; Getting them is great, but ultimately that is just half the battle. What will Deon Cain do with his? We will have to wait and see.