The Colts will be without Michael Pittman Jr. until at least Week 8 after his leg injury worsened overnight.
Colts fans have been dealt so many significant injury blows through the early portion of the 2020 season that it’s beginning to feel like the new normal. A day with an injury scare is statis at this point, and not an outlier.
First, RB Marlon Mack was lost for the season in the opener’s first half, complicating Indy’s three-headed backfield strategy. Then, FS Malik Hooker tore his Achilles and departed the 2020 campaign, followed by WR Parris Campbell’s IR stint that will take him out through Week 6, though it seems he averted catastrophe.
Add in Rock Ya-Sin’s stomach ailment, Trey Burton’s solitude, and Michael Pittman Jr.’s toe issue that cropped up in Week 2, and you start to see a lot of little things that hurt the Colts’ ability to lessen the burden of these season-long losses.
Of course, sometimes the little things very quickly bubble up into something larger. That was the case with Pittman, who reportedly had surgery on Sunday night to relieve his compartment leg syndrome. He’ll now be out through Week 8, at the earliest.
#Colts WR Michael Pittman had compartment leg syndrome in his calf, source said, and he had surgery last night. It went well. He should be back the game after their bye. So, likely Week 8.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 28, 2020
Needless to say, this is a huge blow — the 2020 second-rounder was likely the team’s most consistent deep threat, with TY Hilton battling inconsistency in a stressful contract year.
Without Pittman Jr. going forward, and accounting for the (temporary) loss of Campbell, the offense has reverted very much back to 2019 levels.
On the brighter side, though, the backfield is greatly improved, Rivers has become a more effective caretaker than Jacoby Brissett, and the defense has set franchise records for effectiveness through the season’s first three weeks.
#Colts WRs with Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman Jr. now out:
— Locked On Colts Podcast (@LockedOnColts) September 28, 2020
1. T.Y. Hilton
2. Zach Pascal
3. Daurice Fountain
4. Ashton Dulin
5. Dezmon Patmon
Indy right back where they were last season in terms of injuries at receiver.
If there’s any solace here for Colts fans, there isn’t a matchup on the schedule that truly terrifies you prior to Week 9 when the Baltimore Ravens come to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Without Pittman Jr. on the outside, Indy will have to reckon with the Bears, Browns and Bengals; the Lions arrive for that crucial Week 8, a battle which will hopefully feature Campbell, too.
In the short-term, things look bleak, and we’re worried about Pittman Jr.’s mysterious ailment and the circumstances with which it arrived.
It’s our bet that the Colts can persevere, though.
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