Colts are sadly mistaken if they’re banking on TY Hilton to show up Thursday night
TY Hilton hasn’t been impactful all season. The Colts shouldn’t have their hopes up for Thursday.
The Indianapolis Colts are heading into what feels like a must-win game this Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans and will need all hands on deck to put themselves in a favorable position in the AFC South. It doesn’t get any easier for Indy, who will face the Titans (twice), Packers, Raiders and Steelers during the second half of the season.
The offense is already dealing with an issue at the tight end position as Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox banged up. Doyle is likely out for the game and Alie-Cox was a DNP on Monday and limited on Tuesday. That could leave Trey Burton as the only option.
As for the wide receiving corps? Well, that unit’s been injured all year, with TY Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell all missing time at some juncture. On top of that, Hilton and Pittman, haven’t been all that effective when healthy, so the fact the Colts are seemingly banking on Hilton returning to action and producing on Thursday is wishful thinking, to put it nicely.
Colts WR TY Hilton, who missed Sunday's loss with a groin injury, vows he is "very close" and sounds very much like a player who expects to return to the field Thursday night. Will be coaches/doctors' call, he adds, but he knows how vital this game is for the Colts.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 10, 2020
This was the same narrative last year. The Colts faced a crucial end-of-year stretch that determined their playoff fate and Hilton was on the shelf with a hamstring injury. Up until that point, he was having an awful year, but he admirably battled through it and the Colts thought his return would give them a boost.
It didn’t. Indy went 1-2, finished 7-9, missed the playoffs, and Hilton caught 10 passes for 123 yards and zero touchdowns.
We no doubt appreciate Hilton’s hopefulness to get back on the field, but the veteran has sadly been a non-factor for all of 2020, with his best game being a six-catch, 69-yard performance in a loss to the Cleveland Browns that was never close.
With today's walkthrough, Tuesday's injury report is only an estimation of a player’s participation if there was a practice. pic.twitter.com/Ghd5YrsX9y
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 10, 2020
Across seven games, Hilton’s failed to develop a rapport with Philip Rivers after dropping two crucial passes in Week 1 against the Jaguars. He has just 22 catches for 251 yards and zero touchdowns on the year. Why in the world would anybody think his return would be a difference maker, especially if he’s partially hobbled with an injury?
Alie-Cox and Zach Pascal have surpassed Hilton as the team’s leading receivers, which really isn’t saying much. Marcus Johnson has only 10 fewer receiving yards than Hilton and running back Nyheim Hines has 31 fewer yards.
Not to be pessimistic, but don’t get your hopes up for a potential Hilton return. He’s been little to no help all year and there’s no way anybody can expect him to do much against a stout Titans defense.
