The Colts placed RB Marlon Mack on the injured reserve list and made a corresponding roster move.
The off-putting vibes following the Indianapolis Colts’ loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to open the season were only amplified when it was revealed that Marlon Mack suffered a torn Achilles.
That injury will unfortunately end what was supposed to be a career-defining season for Mack, who will hit free agency at the end of the year and will, in all likelihood, have to pursue a new contract while he’s still rehabbing. If that doesn’t hit you right in the feels, we don’t know what will.
The Colts, meanwhile, will move forward without Mack for the rest of the campaign and they made that official by placing him on the injured reserve list on Wednesday. In a corresponding move, the team promoted wide receiver Daurice Fountain to the active roster and signed running back Darius Jackson to the 16-man practice squad.
Colts placed running back Marlon Mack on the Injured Reserve list. The team also signed running back Darius Jackson to the practice squad.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 16, 2020
This was an inevitable move by Indianapolis, and it really makes you ponder if the franchise will entertain the thought of retaining Mack on the cheap once he’s fully recovered, but we’ll cross that bridge when/if the time comes.
Fountain, on the other hand, was a fifth-round draft pick of the Colts back in 2018. He’s yet to really find his place in the NFL, appearing in just one game as a rookie and spending the entirety of last season on injured reserve following ankle surgery.
The 24-year-old WR spent training camp with Indy this year and was waived prior to the roster deadline before ultimately being re-signed to the practice squad. He now stands as the seventh wideout on the Colts’ active roster.
Colts put Marlon Mack on IR, promote Daurice Fountain https://t.co/OEUTsAjls3
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 16, 2020
As expected, the Colts added another running back in Jackson to serve as insurance behind the likes of Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins, all of whom will be the featured guys moving forward. Like Fountain, the former sixth-round pick of Dallas back in 2016 spent time with Indianapolis during camp, but unsurprisingly failed to make the final roster.
It’s worth noting that the Colts brought veteran RB Lamar Miller, who remains unsigned after suffering a torn ACL last season, in for a workout this week, but opted against signing him for the time being.