Darius Butler’s status for Sunday’s game in doubt due to fractured finger

Late in Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts cornerback Darius Butler suffered a fractured finger.

Head coach Chuck Pagano provided that update this afternoon, saying that Butler will undergo surgery on Tuesday morning and that they will put a plate in there, meaning that “his availability for this week is obviously in jeopardy.”

It’s another rough break for Butler, who was in his first game back since a hamstring injury suffered in week two. Before that, Butler had missed some time (including week one) with an ankle injury. So if Butler misses this Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, Butler will have missed four of six games with three different injuries. That’s a really rough stretch to begin the season.

If Butler does miss the game, it will be a bigger opportunity for Rashaan Melvin, who has done a nice job so far this season. Pagano today said that he still has “all the confidence in the world” in Patrick Robinson despite his game on Sunday, so Robinson will likely continue to start alongside Vontae Davis.

As for other injury updates, Pagano said that wide receiver Donte Moncrief is trending in the right direction, but he’s still week-to-week. Center Jonotthan Harrison, who had an emergency appendectomy the week before the Jaguars game, is “doing a little bit better,” Pagano said, but the coach said that Harrison’s status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air. Furthermore, Josh McNary suffered a stinger but should be ok, according to Pagano. And Patrick Robinson was in and out of the game with knee and groin injuries, but he’s day-to-day - meaning it’s not too serious.