Colts Injury Update: Jack Doyle to practice today, may play on Sunday

Frank Reich had quite a few interesting things to say in his press conference today, but he saved the best news for last. We haven’t heard any updates on Jack Doyle’s status in a long time, but today we finally got an update and it is a great one.

Getting Jack Doyle back on the field is a big deal for this team, because he is not only one of Andrew Luck’s most dependable targets, but he is also one of the best blocking tight ends on the roster. His presence early in the season was what helped get the running game going on early downs and made the Colts’ prolific 3^rd down conversion rate possible.

It is impossible to know exactly how much his loss to injury changed the offense, but it definitely had an impact. His return to practice indicates that he is nearly ready for a full return, which changes the way this offense looks dramatically, and undoubtedly adds a player with whom Andrew Luck has great confidence to a unit that has lacked that very thing.

Frank Reich said there was a chance Doyle could play as soon as this week, but even if he can’t, this seems to indicate that he is nearly a lock to return following the bye week, which means we’ll get a chance to see this offense come out of it at full strength. When that happens, we should expect this team to start doing some serious damage.