Whew. For an entire day, the Indianapolis Colts might have worried fans (and, let's be honest, fantasy football fans) that quarterback Daniel Jones might not be healthy against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. Jones popped up on Indy's injury report during the week.
The quarterback was dealing with a calf issue, and he was listed as limited on Thursday after being a full participant on Wednesday. The hope was that Indianapolis might simply be resting Jones a bit so late in the season rather than risk making a little problem a much bigger one.
That appears to be the case, too. According to head coach Shane Steichen, the quarterback was dealing with a "fibula issue" and was being helped out of practice a bit simply as a "precaution." He was a full participant on Friday.
Daniel Jones and Charvarius Ward are good to go for the Indianapolis Colts versus the Chiefs
The even better part is that no Colts player who isn't on injured reserve will be out against the Chiefs. Steichen said everyone was good to go, and that includes cornerback Charvarius Ward, who was recently activated from injured reserve. He had dealt with concussion symptoms, but cleared protocol and should have no limitations against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City.
After a season that has been fairly brutal as far as the health of Indianapolis's cornerbacks, the team is getting healthier later in the season, and that's not a bad thing. It is obviously better to be healthy later in the year than at the beginning.
The other part is that Week 12 will mark the first time that the Colts can pair Ward with Sauce Gardner, as well as excellent slot cornerback Kenny Moore II. The team traded for Gardner at the deadline, and that happened while Ward was still on IR.
Indy now arguably has the best pair of cornerbacks in the NFL, but the league hasn't gotten to see how good the Colts are at the position. Unfortunately for Mahomes, he will have the first look. The magic that Ward, Gardner, and Moore can create will be just beginning in Kansas City.