Laiatu Latu Misses Practices with the Indianapolis Colts training coach reveals his intention towards….
After missing last week’s game against the Packers, S-Julian Blackmon (right shoulder) was back to practice on Wednesday. With Blackmon missing on Sunday, the Colts had Rodney Thomas II start at free safety, with Nick Cross playing strong safety.
Rookie Laiatu Latu (hip) missed Wednesday’s practice, with the Colts listing him at “day-to-day.” One thing to note on a possible Latu absence for this week, the Colts did decide to bring up a defensive end off the practice squad in veteran Genard Avery. Defensive line playing time is going to need to be adjusted, given the injury news of this week.
The Colts placed DeForest Buckner on injured reserve on Tuesday afternoon, meaning he will miss at least the next four games (Bears, Steelers, at Jaguars, at Titans). If Buckner is looking at a Josh Downs-length absence (Downs has now missed 6 weeks), then putting the big man on injured reserve make sense in opening up a roster spot, which the Colts used on DE-Genard Avery. The Colts are about to experience their first stint without Buckner since he was traded here in 2020. No Colts player has been more durable than Buckner over the last 5 years. Life without him is an unknown. While the defensive line has had issues in 2024, there’s no shortage of major on-paper investments behind Buckner.
This will be the second straight week of practice for Josh Downs, as he tries to make his 2024 game debut. Wednesday marks 6 weeks to the day Downs suffered the high ankle sprain on a Nick Cross training camp tackle. A return of Josh Downs could bring back the off-season playing time debate of Alec Pierce vs. AD Mitchell. While both of those guys will still factor into the offensive game plan, it’s hard to imagine a scenario other than Pierce outsnapping Mitchell, as the rookie has struggled to get on the same page with Anthony Richardson so far, whereas Pierce was easily been the team’s most consistent pass catcher. Granted, Mitchell is getting open, so it’s not like that element to his game is a concern.
Remember, all 4 of Matt Gay’s misses dating back to last month’s preseason have come to the left. Those misses are from 44, 50, 53 and 54 yards, with the left miss from 50 in Green Bay, just a few weeks after Gay needed hernia surgery. Shane Steichen shared this on Wednesday when asked about Gay’s misses to the left: “I always say, ‘I’m not a kicking coach, first and foremost.’ But we are working through those things.”
What are the Colts trying to avoid on Sunday? Just their second 0-3 start in the last 25 years of the franchise (2011 was the other 0-3 start). With consecutive home games with the Bears and Steelers, it goes without saying how vital these contests are to the Colts getting back on track. After that, the Colts play 4 of 5 games on the road, and then have a 3-week stretch against Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and Jared Goff.
