Colts general manager Ryan Grigson: "Our injury reports are accurate"

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck missed two games earlier this season with a shoulder injury, but even though he has returned to play the last two weeks he still hasn't looked healthy.  This morning, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reported that Luck has been playing with multiple fractured ribs, which would help explain why he has been struggling.  That also brings with it the question of whether the Colts violated the NFL's injury report rules by not disclosing the injury, however, and it seems pretty clear that if Luck is playing injured then it was a violation.  General manager Ryan Grigson responded to those questions by insisting that the team's injury reports are correct.

"Our injury reports are accurate," Grigson said in a statement issued by the team.  "If people have any questions about player injuries, they should refer to our injury reports."

Here's the thing, though: either Luck isn't injured (meaning that Jay Glazer's report is wrong and going against the eye test of most people) or the Colts' injury report is wrong.  It's that simple.  The Colts are obligated to report it if Luck does indeed have fractured ribs, but the quarterback hasn't been on the injury report in a couple of weeks, since missing time due to a shoulder injury.  So, essentially, this is Ryan Grigson denying that his franchise quarterback is playing injured.  If he's so insistent that the team's injury report is correct, then he's insisting that Luck isn't actually hurt - because that would need to be listed on the report.  As Bob Kravitz pointed out, if Grigson is so confident in their injury report being correct, then he should welcome the NFL investigation that will take place.  This could come down to who you believe - Jay Glazer or Ryan Grigson - and, well, I'm not sure why anyone would believe the Colts about much of anything at this point.

It's not uncommon for teams to try to bend the rules when it comes to the injury report, but that doesn't make it any less of a violation.  Simply put, if Andrew Luck really is playing with multiple fractured ribs as has been reported, the Colts are in direct violation of NFL rules and should be punished.  They would surely argue that they didn't include Luck on the report because he didn't miss practice because of that, but the NFL policy still clearly states that a player needs to be listed if he has a significant injury, even if he doesn't miss practice.  Possible punishment could be a fine and/or loss of draft picks for breaking this rule, though very rarely does the NFL punish for an injury report violation.  A league spokesman has confirmed to Stampede Blue, however, that they will look into this particular situation.