Kelvin Hayden To IR, Joe Reitz To Active Roster

Bad news courtesy of NFL Buzz:

The Indianapolis Colts have placed starting CB Kelvin Hayden on injured reserve, a source confirmed. To replace him on the 53-man roster, the Colts signed OT Joe Reitz off the practice squad.

To state the obvious, Hayden is out for the remainder of the postseason, however long (or short) that may be.  This is probably also a bad sign for Ryan Diem, who is listed as questionable with a back injury today.  I don't think it's a stretch at this point to say that Diem will not play tonight.

As far as Hayden, this caps a season where he played 11 games, following two seasons where he played no more than 10 games.  Ever since he signed his new contract, it seems to be par for the course for Hayden to miss at least a quarter of the season.  The Colts will miss his presence to due a lack of depth at the cornerback position, but then it's not as if Hayden was exactly playing spectacular football this season either.

It's a disappointing outcome for the team, and I'm guessing for Hayden as well.  Personally, I question the return they're getting on a top-paid cornerback in Hayden, but that's only really relevant if/when the salary cap comes back into play.

For now, if the Colts really are on a quest to replicate the 2006 postseason, they'll have to do so without one of their Super Bowl heroes.