Dwayne Allen’s timeline for recovery from ankle injury is 3-5 weeks

Early in the Colts’ week six loss to the Houston Texans, they lost tight end Dwayne Allen to an ankle injury. That resulted in him missing last week’s game against the Titans and being described as week-to-week.

We had tidbits of information that indicated that Allen would be out a while, such as that week-to-week designation or the fact that he was on crutches, but we never got a real timetable for his injury. Allen provided that today, however, as he said that the recovery for his injury is 3-5 weeks. He did say, however, that he hopes to get on the practice field this week, and he didn’t have crutches or a limp today.

That 3-5 week timetable would still result in him missing a few more games, however. And with the Colts facing the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers before entering their bye week, it would make a lot of sense to sit Allen until after the bye, at which point he hopefully would be ready to return against the Tennessee Titans. That would be at the five week point of his recovery, and it would have meant missing three games. So the bye week could come at an opportune time for Allen this year.

In the meantime, however, the Colts seem to be just fine without Allen in the lineup. Jack Doyle has really stepped up this year, and he’s actually second on the team in receptions (29) and yards (282), while he’s also tied for the team lead in touchdowns (four). He has really impressed, and he’s a guy who can handle both receiving and blocking responsibilities if need be. And with Allen out, Erik Swoope has stepped up too, as he has caught four passes for 93 yards in the past two games. That’s not to say that Allen won’t be welcomed back or that it’s no big deal when he returns, but the loss of Allen hasn’t had nearly the level of impact many people thought it might entering the season, and that’s because of the play of Jack Doyle (and also, to a lesser degree, Erik Swoope).