Unfortunately, as we covered yesterday, the Colts' best running back, Ahmad Bradshaw, suffered a fractured fibula in Sunday night's loss to the Patriots. The Colts are still holding out some hope, as the back sees other specialists, that perhaps Bradshaw could return late in the season, but either way it's clear that the Colts will need help at running back for the time being. Trent Richardson is, well, Trent Richardson, and then Dan Herron is unproven. Zurlon Tipton, who will likely be promoted from the practice squad, has yet to even dress for an NFL game. The Colts could be in the market for a free agent running back to help out.
Because of that, and because of Chuck Pagano's ties to the Baltimore Ravens organization, there have been a few fans and national media wondering whether the Colts could be interested in former Ravens running back Ray Rice if he is reinstated. But like myself and others in Indy have been saying, it's unlikely. This morning, ESPN's Ed Werder reported that the Colts are not interested in Rice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Source says <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Colts?src=hash">#Colts</a> have no interest in Ray Rice as replacement for injured Ahmad Bradshaw even if ex-Raven is reinstated to NFL.</p>— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Edwerderespn/status/534703769716817921">November 18, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
For those of you who haven't read a single news article for the last several months, here's the (very) short version of the story: Rice was suspended indefinitely in September for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after a video leaked of Rice hitting and knocking out his then-fiancee (now wife) in an elevator. The Ravens released Rice, but there's a possibility that the running back will be reinstated at some point soon - though there's still a lot of uncertainty. What seems clear, however, is that his biggest challenge will not be reinstatement by the league but rather finding a team to sign him. Some speculated the Colts could have interest, since Chuck Pagano was formerly Baltimore's defensive coordinator and because they now need help at running back with Bradshaw injured. But according to Werder, the Colts would not be interested. And I think that's the right move for the franchise at this point.
That said, however, I wouldn't be surprised if the Colts look around at some running backs. Just don't expect it to be Rice, because the Colts aren't interested.