Report: T.Y. Hilton expected to be cleared from concussion protocol on Thursday

During his press conference yesterday, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano revealed that star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton was going through the concussion protocol, which is why he missed practice.

Hilton had a headache after Saturday night's game, so the team put him under the protocol just to be safe.  Pagano never confirmed that Hilton did indeed suffer a concussion, rather that he was simply going through the protocol.  According to ESPN's Britt McHenry, Hilton "is expected to complete it Thursday, and the expectation is that he will be cleared."  Hilton texted McHenry that, "I'm totally fine.  I barely got tackled."

Hilton was back on the field practicing on Tuesday, though in a limited sense as he's wearing a red non-contact jersey.  Still, however, the fact that he's on the field in any role is obviously a good thing.

The Colts don't need Hilton back for this Thursday's game whatsoever, as the fourth preseason game is typically just left up to backups and depth players fighting for a roster spot.  The next time we'll see most of the starters is on September 13 when they open the regular season at Buffalo against the Bills, so there's plenty of time for Hilton to recover and be cleared.  And it's sounding like that might very well happen pretty soon.