Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen has had to be less coach lately and more bearer of bad news. His team is on a slide that has seen it lose four of the last five games, but the injury situation has been even worse. It's not getting better.
In Week 14, the Colts lost Daniel Jones to an injury that has been confirmed to be a torn Achilles tendon. He not only will miss the rest of this season, but could miss a chunk of next year, too. He is a free agent in 2026, so even Indy might pass on bringing him back. After giving up two first-round picks to acquire Sauce Gardner, the team has to be in win-now mode.
But in Steichen's presser the day after the Week 14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the coach brought even worse news. Sure, Jones is done this year, but cornerback Charvarius Ward entered concussion protocol after the game. If he has a head injury, it would be his third this season. That's dangerous.
Indianapolis Colts get brutal injury news well beyond Daniel Jones' status
Right tackle Braden Smith is also in concussion protocol, as well as dealing with a neck issue. He and Ward could both miss the upcoming game against the Seattle Seahawks. Fans will know by midweek if either player did indeed suffer a concussion.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner will almost certainly miss the game with a calf injury. He could miss a few more games, too.
The most surprising news that Steichen spoke about was that Riley Leonard, the presumed starter moving forward with Jones out and Anthony Richardson still on injured reserve after breaking an orbital bone midseason, is dealing with "knee soreness" and the team is "hopeful" that he can play against Seattle, but not absolutely certain he can.
If Leonard cannot play, the assumption would be veteran Brett Rypien, who has been on the practice squad, would play. He has started 11 games in his career and has never been good. He's also never faced a Mike Macdonald defense, and the Seahawks are very good defensively.
What Indianapolis Colts fans know now is that Daniel Jones won't play the rest of the season. Deforest Bucker and Sauce Gardner won't play in Week 15. Charvarius Ward and Braden Smith might not. That is no kind of shape to face the 10-3 Seahawks in Seattle.