The Indianapolis Colts, especially their medical staff, appear to be Sisyphus. The team sees the stone, thinks they can make it up the hill, only to have it roll back over them again. Last season, the team was fine with letting quarterback Daniel Jones play on a broken fibula, until the worst thing happened. This season, Alec Pierce played until he couldn't. That took two games.
The team, as head coach Shane Steichen did on Wednesday when discussing that Pierce will be out for at least four games and being placed on injured reserve, often cites that team doctors have said a player is good to play, only to have that player get hurt again soon after.
That happened to Jones, who broke his fibula in Week 10, was cleared by medical staff to keep playing, and then tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14 in his other leg. Were the two injuries connected? The medical staff would say no, most likely, but then a coincidence seems odd.
Should the Indianapolis Colts have had Alec Pierce on the field? Hmmm...
Pierce was cleared by medical staff after having surgery on his heel/anke in March, and then missed all of training camp and the preseason before returning to practice in the days before Week 1, only to aggravate the same injury in Week 2. He seemingly shouldn't have been playing since he re-injured the same problem so quickly. The medical staff would likely say that was accidental, though.
The Indianapolis Colts also allowed Charvarius Ward to keep playing in 2025 after having not one, but two concussions by midway through the season. He was cleared to play by the medical staff. He then suffered a third concussion. No one should have three brain injuries in the same five months and be asked to live a normal life.
Colts fans should assume the above was all a coincidence. The alternative is too harsh. Either the medical staff isn't doing their jobs well, which would open them to lawsuits, or the team is pushing for players to play. That isn't just a fireable offense, but an inhumane thing to do.
Maybe none of the above happened, but a pattern has been established. A quarterback trying to play on a broken leg shouldn't be on the field. A wide receiver with a "surgically repaired" injury shouldn't have to be ready before his body is ready for him to be. A player who has suffered traumatic brain injuries close together shouldn't have to play soon after those occur.
Again, for legal reasons, maybe what happened to Jones, Pierce, and Ward was accidental. The situation still seems odd, though.
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