T.Y. Hilton unsure if he will play this Sunday

One of the biggest injury situations worth monitoring for the Indianapolis Colts this week is in regards to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton’s status.

He suffered a hamstring injury early in Sunday’s game and though he did return, it was clearly affecting him. He’s been dealing with some injuries on and off this year, but so far nothing has kept him out of a game. Will that change this week?

The short answer is: we don’t know. But according to Colts.com’s Kevin Bowen, Hilton did say today that he’s unsure if he will play on Sunday. Hilton also added that he suffered the injury on the first drive of the game on Sunday.

It would obviously be a huge loss for the Colts if they have to play without Hilton, as he has been far and away their most productive receiver this year (no other Colt really comes close). He has caught 46 passes for 709 yards and four touchdowns this season, putting him on pace for a career season. Through eight games this year, Hilton ranks fourth in the league in receiving yards, sixth in receptions, and second in 20+ yard receptions - while he’s also tied with a number of other players for the eighth-most touchdown receptions.

He has been incredibly productive, but the Colts shouldn’t rush him back on the field if he’s not healthy. We saw the injury affect him last week, and it’s better for him to fully recover than play on lingering injuries. Especially with the bye week coming after this Sunday’s game against the Packers, the Colts could choose to give Hilton plenty of time to recover. So we’ll have to wait and see. He’s not practicing today (Chuck Pagano said that Hilton is getting a rest day), so that means his participation on Thursday and Friday will be key.

In other injury news, not much has changed. Vontae Davis and Joe Reitz are still in the concussion protocol, while Mike Adams won’t practice today with a groin injury, and the Colts will then see how he’s doing tomorrow. As for Jack Mewhort, he also won’t practice today and Chuck Pagano didn’t really have an update on how long the guard will be out or when he might return.