Dwayne Allen expected to make his return this Sunday for Colts

Dwayne Allen has missed the past two games with an ankle injury, but he is expected to make his return to the field this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Allen was injured early in the team’s week six loss to the Houston Texans, and after not practicing the past two weeks he has returned to practice in a limited capacity this week. It sounds like he is in line to play this Sunday too, as head coach Chuck Pagano said today that barring a setback, Allen will play - though he’s not yet 100%.

Getting him back would add a nice piece to the offense, as Allen is the team’s top tight end when healthy. He’s had a solid year, as in six games he’s caught 18 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and his impact goes beyond simply the passing game.

At the same time, however, Pagano noted that Allen isn’t 100% yet. Pagano explained that no one is 100% at this time of year, so the question really becomes whether Allen has truly recovered from his injury yet or not. Because here’s the deal: while some would like to pretend that Allen hasn’t been prone to injuries in recent years, the reality is that he’s missed a number of games due to issues - but perhaps the bigger issue has been that he’s had injuries that have lingered. He’s spent offseasons trying to improve his training regimen to avoid that, but the fact of the matter is that we’ve seen Allen still be hindered by some lingering issues when he’s returned from similar injuries in the past. And it’s not like he’s indispensable to the Colts’ offense right now, as Jack Doyle and Erik Swoope have both played well in Allen’s absence. With a bye week following this Sunday’s game, it would make sense to me to sit Allen to try to get him close to 100% so that when he returns he can truly be effective. Again, that probably depends on just how healthy he is right now (which only the Colts know), but it’s something worth considering.

The Colts, though, give the indication that Allen will play, so they should get their top tight end back against the Packers this Sunday.