Colts WR Reggie Wayne Ruled Out for Sunday's Game vs. Steelers

For much of this past week we have been wondering whether Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne would be able to play in this Sunday's game against the Steelers, and we now have confirmation from head coach Chuck Pagano - Reggie Wayne is OUT for Sunday.  In addition, running back Trent Richardson and tight end Jack Doyle are questionable.

Earlier this week Wayne underwent an MRI on the elbow that he injured in the first quarter of Sunday's game.  Initial reports suggested he might miss a week or two, and even after Pagano said that he was "day-to-day" the fact that he didn't practice this week suggested all along that he might not play.  That speculation was correct, and Reggie won't be suiting up on Sunday when the Colts take on the Steelers.

For a guy who was an iron man for twelve years and once played in 189 consecutive games, this will be the tenth regular season game missed in the last two seasons.  He missed nine games last year with a torn ACL, and now an injured elbow will put him out for at least one game this year.  On the season, he has 38 receptions for 434 yards and a touchdown.  We have seen number 87 moving up the all-time receiving charts this season and in fact he's getting rather close to passing a couple of Marvin Harrison's franchise records - he needs 59 catches and 581 yards to become the Colts' all-time leader in both career receptions and career receiving yards.  He won't get any closer to those marks this weekend, however.

The Colts are better equipped to play without the long-time star this year than they were a year ago, and both Hakeem Nicks and Donte Moncrief will see increased time on Sunday in an effort to make up for the loss of Wayne.

Also of note is that Trent Richardson and Jack Doyle are questionable.  Richardson also had an MRI earlier in the week on his injured hamstring and Pagano also called him "day-to-day" on Wednesday.  Pagano thought that Richardson would be able to get out on the practice field on Thursday, but that didn't happen - and he wasn't practicing today either.  Richardson had his best game as a Colt last week against the Bengals, but he might not be able to play this Sunday.  He seems like a true game time decision for the Colts this week.  If he's not able to go, Ahmad Bradshaw would function as the number one back with Dan Herron also seeing some time.  There's also a chance that the Colts might call Zurlon Tipton up from the practice squad so that the team would have a third running back on the roster should Richardson not be able to play, but that's just speculation right now.  As for Doyle, he's the third tight end but has been playing well this season.  It wouldn't be a huge loss by any means, but he has been doing a good job with what the Colts have asked him to do.