The 2025 season has, in many ways, been unfair to the Indianapolis Colts. While the team has been mostly successful, one might wonder just how good the defense could be if it were ever fully healthy. The secondary, specifically, has struggled with players being hurt since the preseason.
Entering Week 14, a few key players are either out for the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars or hobbling. Quarterback Daniel Jones has a broken fibula but will play. Cornerback Sauce Gardner has a calf issue and will not. The team might have some good news about DeForest Buckner, though.
Indy's best defensive lineman has been on injured reserve with a neck injury, the kind of injury that a player shouldn't mess around with. A knee or shoulder can heal and be fine, but neck problems can linger the rest of one's life.
Indianapolis Colts might be on the verge of getting DeForest Buckner back
A timetable for Buckner's return has not been known since the lineman went on IR ahead of Week 10. If he had missed the rest of the regular season, it would not have been surprising, but instead, he might be on the verge of a return.
According to head coach Shane Steichen, Buckner is "progressing really well" and "the hope is sooner rather than later."
The word "hope" can mean lots of things in terms of a player's injury, of course. Ultimately, it's meaningless as it offers no real concrete timeline. Still, to parse Steichen's words, it does seem like Buckner will come back before the end of the regular season.
He is eligible to come off of IR ahead of Week 15 when the Colts travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks. Seattle, like Indianapolis, has an excellent offense, and Buckner's availability would certainly be a boon to the Colts' chances in the game.
Even though he has missed the last three games, Buckner still leads all of Indy's interior defensive linemen in terms of quarterback hits (13) and tackles for loss (9), while being tied with the most sacks (4) and tackles (42).
His presence also helps take attention away from the other linemen and makes their jobs easier, too. Buckner also frees up edge rusher Laiatu Latu to be more productive. In Buckner's absence, Latu has no tackles for loss in the past three games and only half a sack. The Indianapolis Colts simply need DeForest Buckner back, and that return might happen sooner than initially expected.