INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly will be sidelined indefinitely after he undergoes a medical procedure on his foot. Kelly was initially sidelined during the Colts' joint practices with Detroit last week and was held out of the Lions' preseason game last week. The injury was not thought to be serious at the time and he had been wearing a walking boot since incurring the injury. There is no timetable for his return although Kelly is expected to miss the start of the regular season.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the surgery is scheduled for Friday and will be to repair a bone defect in his foot.
"We put him in a boot roughly six, seven days ago and we wanted to give it a week. You always err on the side of caution and hope that if you immobilize that thing, it's going to get better. But that's not the case," head coach Chuck Pagano said after Thursday's practice.
"So, Ryan, unfortunately, is going to have to have surgery. We're hoping for a complete recovery on it, but he's going to have to miss some time. How much time, I don't know. I don't have a timetable yet. So, he'll go through that procedure and we'll see what happens."
Schefter also reported that Kelly could be sidelined from six to eight weeks.
--The Colts wrapped up the training camp portion of the preseason Thursday. After a light workout Friday, Indianapolis will play its second preseason game Saturday night in Dallas. The Colts lost 24-10 to Detroit in their preseason opener last Sunday.
--Injuries have hit the Colts hard during training camp and the preseason. The news came Thursday that second-year center Ryan Kelly will be sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury, joining wide receiver Donte' Moncrief, tight end Eric Swoope (knee), rookie safety Malik Hooker (first-round pick, shoulder) and wide receiver Chester Rogers (hamstring).
--Center Brian Schwenke, signed as a veteran free agent during the offseason, remains on the team's PUP list with a foot injury as does safety Clayton Geathers (neck) and quarterback Andrew Luck (shoulder). Schwenke is reportedly getting closer to returning to the practice field, according to head coach Chuck Pagano, but there is no timetable at the present time.
--The Indianapolis offense looked sloppy and inconsistent in the team's preseason opening loss to Detroit. Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski knows time is running short to get things worked out before the start of the regular season.
"I'd like to see us clean up," Chudzinski said. "We had a very simple, basic game plan (for the Lions game) that was really just base stuff that we were running. We had a number of guys who were in here for two or three days going into that game and playing.
"I'd like to see growth from that perspective, of guys knowing what to do. It's not just knowing what to do, it's the how to do it. So being more efficient in that way and obviously cutting out some of the penalties and seeing the production show at the end of the day."
--Chudzinski was asked about the thinking going into the regular-season opener if Luck is not available to play. Will the Colts have to change things up in the playbook?
"We'll make those adjustments if that's the case down the road," he explained. "Every week we tailor (the offense) to the opponent, some to who may be playing, skill-wise, O-line wise, quarterback wise and all those type of things all go into it."
--Head coach Chuck Pagano likes what he's seen so far from veteran punter Jeff Locke and undrafted rookie long snapper Thomas Hennessy.
"Jeff punted the ball really well (against Detroit). He's done a great job. Pleased with where he's at," Pagano said.
"Thomas Hennessy did a great job snapping the football. For a rookie, it wasn't too big for him. Accuracy was great. Laces were great on the field goal and PAT try. So, we're happy with all those guys right now."
--The Colts reached injury settlements with wide receivers Chris Briggs and Tevaun Smith. Both players had been placed on the team's injured reserve list.
In other roster updates, Indianapolis signed free-agent wide receiver Justice Liggins and waived-injured running back Dalton Crossan. Liggins had been in camp with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
--Quarterback Scott Tolzien knows the Indianapolis offense struggled against Detroit in the preseason opener. The pressure is on Tolzien, who is currently the team's No. 1 quarterback with Andrew Luck still rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery. He was only in for 11 plays against the Lions, completing two of five passes for 24 yards.
"I think first and foremost, we didn't move the sticks," Tolzien reviewed. "Our job is to move the chains on offense and we didn't do that. So, we've got to get back to work and we've got to get better.
"All together, I think (there were) more negatives than positives. But you've got to use that as motivation. We've got a lot of strides to make on offense and we will do that. That's our job."
--Safety T.J. Green has been getting work at cornerback the last few days of training camp. The move comes as the Colts have been hit by injuries to several players in the secondary.
"We're missing some guys on the back end," head coach Chuck Pagano explained. "We've got a couple corners out and we've got a tall, fast guy (Green). He's a good football player. And at the end of the day, we're going to find the best four guys.
"T.J. is coming on. He's a big, physical guy. The game is starting to slow down for him. Again, the more that you can do, the better off we're going to be."
--Rookie safety Malik Hooker played fairly well in his NFL debut against Detroit last Sunday. The bad news, however, is that Hooker suffered an unspecified shoulder injury in the game and was held out of practice all week. His status for Saturday's night's second preseason game at Dallas is questionable. Hooker says that he hopes to return to practice next week.
"I'll be fine," he said after Thursday's workout.
--Wide receiver Phillip Dorsett returned to practice this week after missing work due to a hamstring issue. Dorsett is battling to be the Colts' No.3 or No. 4 receiver. He is expected to be available to play against Dallas on Saturday night. Dorsett sat out the Detroit game last Sunday.
--Wide receiver Chester Rogers incurred a hamstring injury in practice last Monday and missed the entire week of practice. While the injury is not considered to be serious, Rogers is not expected to play against the Cowboys Saturday night. He may be cleared to return to practice next week.
--Rookie running back Marlon Mack returned to practice this week after missing the Detroit game with a shoulder injury. Mack, who has gotten a lot of positive reviews during training camp, is slated to get his first NFL game time Saturday night at Dallas.
"Yeah, it's great to have him back out there," Pagano said. "We're excited to get him on the football field."
--Undrafted rookie wide receiver JoJo Natson has become a popular player in the Colts' training camp. Natson handled kickoff return duties in the team's preseason opener with Detroit. The reviews were mostly on the positive side.
"JoJo is fearless and he's a home-run hitter," head coach Chuck Pagano said of the 5-foot-7, 153-pound Akron product. "Our guys did a nice job blocking for him up front. We were an eyelash away from springing him on a couple (kickoffs). He's an explosive guy.
"He's a really good receiver and (has) made plays as a receiver. If he continues to progress and pick things up mentally and learn the playbook, he can be a multi-positional guy. Whether we just play him in the slot or he can do something outside and then the special teams value. It's going to give him a heck of a chance to make this football team. He's tougher than damn nails and they can't get a clean hit on him. His nickname is 'The Flea.' You can't touch 'The Flea.'"
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