Colts: It’s officially time to pull the plug on the Parris Campbell experiment

Following last week’s victory against the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts announced that Parris Campbell sustained a significant foot injury and would miss an extended amount of time. On Friday, Campbell took to his Twitter to update fans that he has had a successful surgery to address the ailment.

Indianapolis has not announced a timeline for Campbell’s return to play, other than the initial expectation that it’ll be a while.

Campbell suffered the injury when he caught a 51-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of that Week 6 game. On the season, Campbell has posted 10 receptions for 162 yards and the one touchdown in five games played.

The foot injury is an unfortunate but familiar situation for Campbell in his young career, as he’s struggled to stay healthy for Indianapolis in his first three seasons. This ominous pattern may force the Colts to consider Campbell’s future with the organization.

Colts should consider Parris Campbell’s future after another injury.

In 2019, Campbell’s rookie season, he battled a broken hand, a sports hernia and a broken foot that eventually placed him on injured reserve. In year two for Campbell, he sustained PCL and MCL injuries in his left knee and was once again placed on injured reserve, missing just about all of the 2020 campaign.

Now, he finds himself back there after his most recent foot surgery, and could miss all of this year, too. Barring a quick recovery and late-season return, that leaves Campbell with just 14 games of action in his first three seasons.

While players have little to no control over suffering injuries, the team will have to eventually decide what is best for the organization. For the Colts, that may mean moving on from Campbell instead of continuing to wonder “what if” he’s healthy and can contribute to the offense. At this point, his best days, by far, are in the rearview.

Having a receiver who struggles to stay on the field as one of your hopeful top weapons makes being a contender even more challenging. The Colts have enough setbacks on the contender front and they can’t keep continuing to prognosticate their future with someone who has hardly contributed in three years.

Indianapolis would certainly welcome Campbell back to conclude the year, but the organization is going to have to sit down during the offseason and make a tougher decision about whether he’ll remain a part of the future.

In the end, it really shouldn’t take long to pull the plug.