Colts’ tight end situation could be a disaster Thursday night vs Titans

The first injury report of the week suggests the Colts are in trouble at the tight end position this week.

Fresh off a humbling home defeat at the hands of Baltimore, the Indianapolis Colts head into perhaps their biggest game of the season on Thursday night, when they travel to Tennessee to take on the division-leading Titans.

We’re not sure what to make of his fixture in terms of which team has the edge, but it goes without saying that it could decide the winner of the AFC South when all is said and done. After all, a win would have the Colts tied for first on overall record, and a loss would send them two games behind with a very difficult remaining schedule.

A short week might be viewed as a positive in that it gives Indianapolis the earliest possible chance to avenge their loss to the Ravens. At the same time, however, it doesn’t provide much time at all for banged up players to get in enough practice time to be given the green light.

Speaking of which, not long after it was revealed on Monday that tight end Jack Doyle will likely miss out after being placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol, Mo Alie-Cox was listed as a DNP at practice with a knee injury, putting his status for Thursday night in question.

Alie-Cox has been bothered by this injury for several weeks now, but he managed to battle through it this past weekend against Baltimore. He even proved to be productive, hauling in all three of his targets for 43 yards, so perhaps him not participating in practice is just a precautionary approach from Frank Reich and the rest of the coaching staff.

Still, however, this is definitely not the news you want to hear after Doyle was essentially ruled out for the game. After registering just one catch the two weeks prior, Alie-Cox has pleasantly reemerged as a viable weapon in the aerial attack, logging six receptions (on seven targets) for 80 yards over the last two games.

We’ll know more about Alie-Cox’s chances to suit up against the Titans in the coming days. In the meantime, fans should cross their fingers that Reich and Co. are exercising caution and just giving the big man some much-needed rest.

If he isn’t able to go, it will be the Trey Burton show at TE for Indianapolis against Tennessee in primetime. That, unfortunately, won’t inspire much confidence in fans as the seven-year veteran has managed just four receptions for a measly 15 yards across the last two games.

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