Colts inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman week to week with hamstring strain

The Indianapolis Colts announced earlier today that they lost running back Ahmad Bradshaw for the season with a wrist injury, as they placed him on injured reserve.  It turns out they suffered another significant loss on Sunday as well, as head coach Chuck Pagano announced at his press conference this afternoon that inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman will be week to week with a grade 2 hamstring strain.

With the Colts, week to week normally means that the player will miss some time. For example, left tackle Anthony Castonzo was listed as week to week last week and missed Sunday's game, while quarterback Andrew luck and wide receiver Philip Dorsett have been week to week for several weeks without returning to the field yet.  As for those guys, Pagano said that Castonzo and Luck are still week to week with their injuries, likely meaning that they will both still be out for a period of time.  Safety Mike Adams and Phillip Dorsett, however, are both listed as day today, which does not automatically mean they will play this week but means they are getting close.  That's the good news, but the loss of Bradshaw for the season and now Freeman for what figures to be at least a week or so is very notable and another big loss for the team.

Freeman has been playing very well in recent weeks, helping to make the inside linebacker position actually the strength of the defense rather than a weakness.  Over the past month or so, Freeman has been one of the Colts' best defenders and has really been a significant part of the impressive defensive performance.  In ten games this year, Freeman has 82 tackles, a sack, a pass defensed, and a fumble recovery.  With Freeman likely to miss at least a game and quite possibly more, the Colts will need to find a way to fill in for another injury.  It will likely be Nate Irving getting the first shot, with Josh McNary also possibly seeing some time as well.