The Indianapolis Colts, like many other NFL teams, don't like to give out much information about what their players' injuries are. That is somewhat fair, as many times it is fantasy football owners who want that information. Opposing teams can use it only to a limited extent.
But what Indy does when discussing injuries is intentionally misleading. When Kenny Moore II was injured in Week 3, the team initially announced he had suffered a calf injury. The truth was that he had an Achilles tendon issue, and he missed several games.
Recently acquired cornerback Sauce Gardner was hurt in Week 13's loss to the Houston Texans, limped off the field without putting weight on one of his legs, and the team said he had a calf issue. Gardner said he felt like he had been "shot in the calf," and was thankful the injury wasn't worse.
Indianapolis Colts are handling injuries in an odd way
While he might only miss a couple of games, he is also expected to get a second opinion on the problem. That is an odd move for what was initially better news than expected. Gardner might want a second opinion simply because Moore was originally diagnosed with a calf injury, and it was worse than that.
The Colts have also not been open about quarterback Daniel Jones' injury, sticking with the story that he had a calf issue of his own (one might wonder if a player clearly suffers a shoulder injury if the team would say it's a calf injury) instead of what has been reported to be the truth: Jones was playing with a fractured fibula.
Head coach Shane Steichen would neither initially deny nor confirm what was reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport about Jones, even though the information was available to everyone with an internet connection. Indianapolis clearly has a structure in place to not give much injury detail, but often, what the team does release isn't correct.
Maybe Daniel Jones will be fine, and the team is correct in their thinking that his broken bone won't get worse, but the quarterback doesn't have a normal job. He has a job where he has 300-pound men trying to tackle him hard and fall on him. Maybe keeping Jones out for a week or two would help, as bones can heal.
But that won't happen, of course. The Indianapolis Colts will keep putting Jones behind center, running plays that use him even more than when he was fully healthy, and hoping for the best. Will that eventually cost the team and the player? That information will come on a week-by-week basis.