INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts find themselves facing uncertainty on the offensive line again this week against San Francisco.
Left tackle Bernhard Raimann, who is dealing with an elbow injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s game in Seattle, practiced on a limited basis Friday, the first time Raimann has practiced this week. But Raimann is questionable and may not be able to go on Sunday.
“We’ll see,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “He was limited, he did some stuff. It was good.”
Up until Raimann suffered the elbow injury last week, he was the only Colt who’d played every snap on his side of the ball this season. Raimann, who signed a four-year, $100 million extension in training camp, has tried hard to live up to the deal.
If he isn’t able to play on Monday night, the Colts have two options.
Indianapolis can go back to veteran Luke Tenuta, the journeyman offensive tackle who played the final 26 snaps in place of Raimann last week. For Tenuta, the Seattle game was the realization of a long road.
Buffalo drafted Tenuta in the sixth round in 2022, and since then he’s played for five teams, almost always on the practice squad on a developmental basis. Before last Sunday, the only game action he’d seen was 25 snaps with the Packers in 2022.
“Everybody’s journey is different,” Tenuta said. “It was fun getting out there to play, it was a long time coming.”
The Colts liked the way Tenuta battled.
Kept around as the team’s emergency fourth tackle this season, Indianapolis has been impressed with the way Tenuta developed, and he got a chance to play against the Seahawks.
“Getting better on the little things, the technical things,” Tenuta said. “That has helped my development a ton.”
Indianapolis has another option.
With a full week (and an extra day) to prepare, the Colts could slide right guard Matt Goncalves to the outside to play tackle, allowing Dalton Tucker to enter the lineup at guard. Goncalves made nine starts at tackle as a rookie, and Tucker has started eight games at guard in his career; a shift would give Indianapolis more experience.
The Colts didn’t want to shuffle like that in the middle of the game a week ago.
Indianapolis might feel comfortable enough with Tenuta on the outside to stay that way. The Colts gave up only one sack against the Seahawks; Philip Rivers does not take many sacks because he gets the ball out of his hands so quickly.
“I thought they did a great job,” Steichen said. “I thought Jalen (Travis) did a hell of a job. Obviously, and then Luke (Tenuta) coming in there and battling like he did. He’s been working his tail off practicing. So when he got his opportunity, I thought he came in and did some really good things for us.”
Or Raimann may be able to make a surprising return and play. If Raimann is going to miss a game, the 49ers pass rush might not be able to test his replacement the same way Seattle tested Tenuta. San Francisco is dead last in sacks and 31st in pressure rate.
Indianapolis is already starting fourth-round pick Jalen Travis at right tackle in place of veteran Braden Smith, who is on injured reserve after suffering a concussion against Jacksonville.
“I think he’s really freaking smart to start with. I think he sees the game pretty well,” Steichen said. “He’s a big man that’s very physical at the point of attack.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bernhard Raimann injury update: Colts face uncertainty on offensive line
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
