Colts’ Henry Anderson “really close” to being activated from PUP

On November 8, 2015, the Indianapolis Colts won their game against the Denver Broncos but lost quarterback Andrew Luck and defensive lineman Henry Anderson in the process. This Saturday, Luck will make his return to the playing field, but what’s the outlook for Anderson?

He suffered a torn ACL that kept him out of the rest of the season, the entirety of the offseason program, and the entirety of training camp, as he was placed on the PUP (physically unable to play) list at the start of camp. He remains on that list, but perhaps not for long.

Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said this morning that Anderson is “really close” to returning, and he added that the doctors have basically said that it’s now up to the coaches as to when they want to activate Anderson.

That suggests that Anderson’s removal from the PUP list could be coming very soon, as the coaches will surely want to get him on the field as soon as possible and work him back in slowly. It’s not as big of a deal right now because Anderson surely won’t play in the preseason regardless, but it’s another encouraging sign that the lineman could be ready to go in week one against the Detroit Lions. That would be a big boost to the Colts defense if that were the case, especially with Kendall Langford’s status for that game up in the air too.

As for the other Colts player on the NFI/PUP lists, safety Clayton Geathers is also doing well. Pagano said that Geathers also had a re-check and that he’s making good progress with his foot injury, with the team planning to ramp up his rehab in the next week - including some on-field work.