A Colts team that was already thin at the cornerback position placed veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward on injured reserve due to a concussion suffered on a hit from tight end Drew Ogletree during warmups last week.
Indianapolis added veteran running back Ameer Abdullah to the 53-man roster to take Ward’s place, a necessity given that the Colts were forced to downgrade Tyler Goodson to out on Saturday due to the groin injury that has caused Goodson to miss the last two games.
Ward, the team’s No. 1 cornerback, must miss at least four games before returning to the lineup, a time frame that indicates the veteran suffered a severe concussion, an injury that is likely more of a risk because it is Ward’s second concussion in six weeks.
Ward already missed one game due to a concussion. The veteran reported concussion symptoms the day after the team’s season-opening win over the Miami Dolphins and missed the team’s win over the Broncos the next week.
The second concussion happened as the result of a freak accident. Ward was going through his typical pregame warmup before the team puts on pads and comes out to the field together, and while he was taking a drop as a defensive back, Ogletree crossed the field to catch a pass.
Ogletree never saw Ward and hit him hard with his shoulder, sending him to the ground and knocking him out of last week’s win over Arizona.
The injury is devastating for a defense that has been snakebitten at the cornerback position this season.
Even after Colts general manager Chris Ballard tried to stockpile as many cornerbacks as possible.
Third-round pick Justin Walley, who was in line to start opposite Ward on the outside, tore his ACL in a joint practice with Baltimore during training camp.
Jaylon Jones, the team’s most consistent starter on the outside the last two seasons, suffered a significant hamstring injury in training camp, returned in time for the season opener and then pulled his hamstring again on punt coverage, forcing the Colts to place him on injured reserve. Indianapolis signed veteran Xavien Howard to fill the spot, but Howard struggled after missing the entire 2024 season and retired after four lackluster games in the starting lineup. JuJu Brents, the team’s 2023 second-round pick, was released after missing most of training camp due to a hamstring injury, the latest in a long line of injuries for Brents.
Veteran slot cornerback Kenny Moore II is scheduled to return for Sunday’s game against the Chargers after missing three weeks due to injury, and the veteran the Colts signed to replace him, former Bengals star Mike Hilton, has been placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury.
With so many cornerbacks out, Indianapolis must rely on a trio of young players to grow up quickly at cornerback.
Mekhi Blackmon, a 2023 third-round pick the Colts picked up in a trade with the Vikings at the end of training camp, leads Indianapolis cornerbacks with 276 defensive snaps this season. Blackmon has made interceptions in back-to-back weeks, but he’s also allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 75% of passes and average 7.8 yards per attempt when he’s the nearest defender in coverage, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Undrafted rookie Johnathan Edwards broke up two passes in limited action earlier this season, but he struggled when he was unexpectedly forced into the starting lineup by Ward’s injury last week, giving up 6 of 8 completions for 128 yards.
Indianapolis has two more cornerback options: veteran Chris Lammons, who has typically been a nickel, and Cameron Mitchell, a former Brown elevated from the practice squad.
Lammons, who has been on and off the Indianapolis roster the past three seasons, has given up 5 of 9 completions for just 13 yards while filling in for Moore and Hilton the past two weeks, but he’s ideally more of a slot than an outside cornerback. Mitchell, a fifth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2023, has played 693 defensive snaps in his first three seasons, including four in his Colts debut a week ago.
The second concussion happened as the result of a freak accident. Ward was going through his typical pregame warmup before the team puts on pads and comes out to the field together, and while he was taking a drop as a defensive back, Ogletree crossed the field to catch a pass.
Ogletree never saw Ward and hit him hard with his shoulder, sending him to the ground and knocking him out of last week’s win over Arizona.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts CB Charvarius Ward put on injured reserve with concussion, what it means
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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