Colts Frank Reich ‘Feels Good’ About Pass Rusher Kemoko Turay’s Ongoing Ankle Rehab

According to head coach Frank Reich (via a Zoom call on Monday with the Indy media), Indianapolis Colts pass rusher Kemoko Turay’s rehabilitation from a season-ending ankle injury last season is going well—as the young edge has still been able to use the team’s facility during the shutdown:

Turay suffered the ankle injury during last year’s Week 5 road upset win against the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs—and had been in the middle of a breakout second-year campaign. However, his broken ankle required season-ending surgery.

The 6’5”, 248 pound still raw, yet athletically gifted pass rusher has already shown off his immense speed rushing potential off the edge. The former Colts’ 2018 second round pick had 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 4 games last season.

However, his actual impact was arguably much more meaningful than that.

Per Pro Football Focus (subscription), despite only playing 4 games last season, Turay was tied as their best graded pass rusher with a +91.3 grade overall (along with Pittsburgh Steelers’ All-Pro T.J. Watt). Specifically, Turay’s pass rushing grade of +91.0 was the 3rd best among all edge defenders in 2019. PFF attributed 14 total QB pressures to him in such a short span.

Entering his 3rd NFL season—and if fully healthy, Turay has a chance to become a breakout pass rushing star in 2020.

The Colts admittedly lost a lot of their pass rushing juice off the edge last season in his absence and finished with essentially a league average 41.0 total sacks (T-15th).

Of course, Reich’s update on Turay’s encouraging progress in his rehabilitation is a great development for the Colts’ defense—especially for a franchise that *knock on wood*, has frequently (and rather unluckily) experienced medical setbacks from key players.

Turay is set to rejoin a Colts pass rushing group that already has veteran standout Justin Houston returning and also recently acquired All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.

The emerging pass rusher could do some real big things this season—health permitting.