The good news is that it is still early in August. The NFL season is nearly a month away, and that means the Indianapolis Colts have a little time to get healthier. But the team is running out of bodies at one position in particular.
The cornerback room is in shambles. Indy somewhat oddly released Corey Ballentine during training camp. At the time, there was no need to make the move, even if the Colts wanted to bring in another player (which they did in the person of cornerback Chris Lammons). A different player than the fairly experienced Ballentine would have made more sense.
Of course, Indianapolis could not have foreseen the injuries still to come at cornerback. The team lost rookie Justin Walley to a torn ACL during a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens last week. He will miss the rest of the year.
Kenny Moore II the latest Indianapolis Colts cornerback to go down
On Sunday, presumed starting nickelback Kenny Moore II had to leave practice early with an apparent leg issue. ESPN reporter Stephen Holder tweeted that the injury was "concerning," but there was no immediate update after practice.
This makes sense because if Moore hurt his knee, there would need to be a more in-depth medical examination to find the scope of the problem. Perhaps, the issue is simply a bruise and not a tear, though, based on the Colts' luck with injuries in camp so far, the worst might be expected. The hope is, of course, that Moore is fine.
The entire secondary has struggled with injuries in camp. Besides Moore and Walley, cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and JuJu Brents have missed a chunk of practice with hamstring injuries. Maybe they are being helped out more as a precaution, and would be able to play if real games were occurring. That is only blind hope, though.
Starting safety Nick Cross missed practice on Sunday as well. He is dealing with a hip flexor problem. As Cross has only missed one game in his three-year career, he could have been held out of practice as much to rest as anything else. Colts fans know he is going to be good once the bright lights come on.
There is no hope in trying to get Corey Ballentine back, however. As quickly as he was released by the Indianapolis Colts, his former team, the Green Bay Packers, scooped him up. They clearly valued him more than Indy ever did.