Injury Report: Anthony Castonzo and Jack Doyle remain out Sunday vs Texans

Update:

With the release of the official injury report, the Colts have added in that safety Clayton Geathers did not practice today and is questionable to play on Sunday. Also, linebacker Anthony Walker was limited in practice and is also listed as questionable.

Frank Reich announced some unpleasant, but not totally unexpected news today. Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) and Jack Doyle (hip) have been officially ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. Additionally, Joe Haeg (ankle), Hassan Ridgeway (calf), and Quincy Wilson (concussion) were ruled out.

Notably, running back Marlon Mack was not on this list, and will be a game time decision after struggling with a hamstring injury that has lingered. Tarell Basham, who was a healthy scratch and missed earlier in the week due to the birth of his child, has been back in practice as well as Denico Autry who has struggled with an ankle injury. Both could be active for Sunday.

Castonzo has been steadily improving, having strung several practices together now as he tries to work back from his hamstring injury that has hampered his offseason and has caused him to miss 4 games now. The Colts might think he is on the brink of being ready and would prefer to err on the side of caution since bringing him back too quickly resulted in a setback last time.

Haeg is viewed as having a few more weeks before he can return after an ankle injury sidelined him. Jack Doyle is another who is still supposedly a couple weeks away, and whose absence will certainly be felt. In the red zone and in pass blocking, the Colts missed Doyle dearly against the Eagles.

Without these guys able to play, expect more of the short passing game to be integrated into the game. The Colts don’t want Andrew Luck getting hit, and the game plan has been pretty clearly geared toward preventing that, with Luck getting the ball out quickly and not taking a ton of shots deep downfield. They will have to air it out some if they want to start winning games, but until Castonzo is back, I don’t expect them to do much of it.