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We're under an hour away from kickoff today as the Indianapolis Colts take on the Jacksonville Jaguars for a key AFC South matchup, but they will be without several important players as they go for their seventh victory of the season and 17th in a row against the division.
In fact, five starters are among the Colts' inactives today. We knew about all of them for at least a day so it's no surprise, but it still hurts. Here's the list of inactives for the Colts today, followed by some thoughts:
Andrew Luck, QB (abdomen/kidney)
Winston Guy, S
Greg Toler, CB (knee)
Jerrell Freeman, ILB (hamstring)
Daniel Adongo, OLB
Anthony Castonzo, OL (knee)
Erik Walden, OLB (foot)
The Colts will therefore be without their starting quarterback, left tackle, inside linebacker, outside linebacker, and cornerback today against the Jaguars. Luck, Castonzo, and Freeman have all now missed multiple games with their injuries, but hopefully some of them might be getting back shortly. Daniel Adongo is inactive after police responded to his residence earlier this week amid a potential investigation, as the Colts have opted to sit him for the time being.
The injuries to Erik Walden and Greg Toler will hurt, particularly against a good passing offense like the one the Jaguars boast. Walden has been one of their most productive pass rushers this year (even though his primary role is as a run defender) while Toler is one of their starting corners. And while Colts fans will say "the loss of Toler won't hurt" or something like that, don't listen - there's a reason why Toler has been starting, and we saw that earlier this year when Darius Butler tried to fill in and did so poorly. This time, the Colts will keep Butler in the slot and instead fill in with Jalil Brown as the starter. Hopefully either he or D'Joun Smith can step up, but there's a reason why Toler has been starting. For Walden, the Colts will start Jonathan Newsome at the spot. Interestingly, Newsome gets the start over Bjoern Werner, yet another sign that the Colts are moving on from their former first round draft pick.