Colts WRs Austin Collie And T.Y. Hilton Cleared To Play, Dwight Freeney 'Day-To-Day'

Indianapolis Star beat writers Mike Chappell and Phil B. Wilson tweeted out some good news this morning regarding T.Y. Hilton and Austin Collie (though, with Collie, the "good" part of the news is relative). They are reporting that both Collie and Hilton were cleared to play Sunday against the Vikings, per information provided by Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.

Hilton missed the opener against the Bears with a shoulder injury. It will be interesting to see if injuries limit Hilton throughout his career. He's only 185 lbs, and typically receivers of his size have to spend a lot of time in the trainer's room. Hilton battled injury in college as well.

Collie is dealing with his fourth concussion in two years. Last week, Pagano's comments suggested Collie would play. Then, the next day, Collie himself was less optimistic. On Sunday, Collie was a scratch. Though it seems as if doctors have cleared Collie to play, it will be interesting to see if he actually does.

Regarding Dwight Freeney, who exited Sunday's first quarter action with an ankle injury, an MRI Monday did not seem to reveal anything broken, but the ankle is sprained. Pagano said Freeney is day-to-day, but Bob Kravitz tweeted earlier that No. 93 could be out for weeks.

Bottom line: Don't expect Freeney back this month.

Adding receiver help for Andrew Luck (who turns 23 today... Happy birthday, kid!) will go a long way to helping him develop as a quarterback. Colts receivers not named Reggie Wayne had trouble with drops on Sunday against the Bears.

Missing Freeney is a big blow to the defense. Without him, Pagano and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky will have to scheme things differently in order to generate a more consistent pass rush.