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In a move that was expected, the Colts have decided to place second year wide receiver Reece Fountain on injured reserve ending his 2019 season after a brutal dislocated and broken ankle which took place on the last day of training camp.
Reece Fountain, per Frank Reich, had a dislocated ankle AND a fracture. He'll go to IR.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 18, 2019
Fountain was drafted in the fifth round with pick 159 in the 2018 draft, and spent most of the season on the practice squad before working his way onto the active roster by season’s end. His 2019 off-season was one of immense growth, making himself a standout receiver in practice who consistently made highlight catches and showed how far he had come from his arrival with the team as a rookie.
One-handed catch by Reece Fountain with tight coverage from Nate Hairston in 1-on-1. Fountain is making plays every day. #Colts
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) August 11, 2019
There was never any doubt about Fountain’s athleticism, his pro day numbers would have compared favorably or better with any receiver in the 2018 class. All he lacked was refinement, coming out of Northern Iowa.
Northern Iowa WR Daurice Fountain (@Reece_JMM) recorded a 42.5” vertical, 11’2” broad jump & 4.46 40 at his pro day. Would’ve beat out every WR at the combine in the vertical and broad, and finished 10th in the 40. Damn. He’s been training at Landow’s too. https://t.co/BejEsr0Rry
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) March 25, 2018
His trajectory over the off-season showed that Fountain was willing to put in the work to improve, and coaches and players raved about him as a worker and a teammate. Frank Reich mentioned him early in the off-season as a player who had shown incredible improvement as a route runner.
Given his consistent camp and game production, Fountain almost certainly had made a case that he deserved a roster spot, and his loss is a blow to the receiver depth chart. He will start a tough road to recovery and hope to continue building on his progress from this off-season once the 2020 season begins.