Colts Notebook: Josh Downs, Matt Gay Miss Practice

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS – Finally, the 2024 season opener is here for the Indianapolis Colts.

Sunday brings the Colts and Texans together at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 1:00 PM kickoff.

Here is what we learned from the Colts on Wednesday:

No practice for Matt Gay (sports hernia) on Wednesday, which is a normal kicking day for the Colts, per Shane Steichen. On Wednesday, Steichen clarified Gay is dealing with a sports hernia injury, not a groin injury, which the head coach had said on Monday. Steichen wouldn’t comment if Gay had surgery (Gay later confirmed he DID have surgery), but did say the issue is not a long-term concern. For Sunday’s season opener though, uncertainty to a position the Colts are paying for the exact opposite at entering Week 1. Undrafted free agent Spencer Shrader is on the practice squad and looks to be the kicker the Colts would turn to, if Gay can’t go on Sunday. Shrader and up and down season at Notre Dame last year, but did connect on field goals from 41 and 56 yards in the preseason finale with the Bengals. In a game that’s hovering around a coin flip, having a first-time undrafted kicker would bring some uneasiness and potentially impact 4^th-down decision making. Steichen said Gay suffered the hernia injury in the week following the preseason finale in Cincinnati. In that game vs. the Bengals, Gay did kick the first extra point of the game, before Shrader took the rest of the kicking duties.

Wednesday marked 4 weeks removed from receiver Josh Downs suffering a high ankle sprain in training camp and he continues to be out of practice. Downs didn’t miss a single game in his rookie campaign, gutting it out in a limited role during the team’s win over the Patriots. Shane Steichen hasn’t ruled Downs out for Sunday, but are two practices (Thursday and Friday) enough for him to be ready? And how much does putting Downs out there in a limited role in the plans in Week 1, when you have 12 straight games following before the bye week. Whereas, last year in the game vs. the Patriots, the Colts had their bye in the week following.

How much uncertainty is there still on the new kickoff rule? It sounds like a good amount around the league. “We are going to find out on Sunday, I’ll say that,” Shane Steichen said on Wednesday when asked about the new kickoff rule. “…Obviously there will be some unknowns.” It’ll be interesting to see if we see an abundance of touchbacks league-wide on Sunday (30-yard line for touchbacks), after seeing so many returns in the preseason.

This might be something we say weekly about the Colts, but it looks even clearer heading into this opener: the Colts have an advantage with their defensive line. Arguably, Houston’s biggest question mark is their offensive line, so it would be even bigger if the Colts can have this strength be a mighty one on Sunday afternoon.

Should I just copy and paste the season-opening drought futility from years past? Somehow, someway, the Colts have not won a season-opener since the 2013 season. LaRon Landry was the leading tackler in that victory. Terrelle Pryor was the opposing quarterback. Anthony Richardson was 11 years old. The Week 1 winless drought of more than a decade includes a tie against the Texans from back in 2022.

Um, are we forgetting about Jonathan Taylor? Amidst all the off-season talk of Anthony Richardson, the Colts secondary and a potentially improved wideout room, Taylor had a quiet 2024, participating in every single practice, a year removed from saga galore. The last time we saw Taylor in a game he had 30 carries for 188 yards in the season finale for Houston. Prior to all the contract/injury drama of 2023, Taylor had set an NFL record in yards per carry through the first four years of a career. And we saw last year what the difference for Zach Moss in yards per carry with Anthony Richardson at quarterback vs. Gardner Minshew. We probably should acknowledge more the potential for a big Taylor season in 2024.

Whereas the Colts have an on-paper advantage in their defensive line vs. the Texans offensive line, the Texans probably feel the same with their wideouts vs. the Colts secondary. With Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell leading the Houston wideout group, that’s a trio who combined for 13 100-yard games last season (5-Collins, 5-Diggs, 3-Dell) and 23 touchdowns (8-Collins, 8-Diggs, 7-Dell). This is certainly going to test the questionable depth of the Colts secondary on Sunday. And it’s why so much onus is going to be on the Colts defensive front to help out the back end, with their consistent, and early, pressure in play disruption.

Houston has a couple of notable injuries to their defense heading into Sunday. Leading tackler LB-Christian Harris is on IR to return, so he’s out for Week 1. In front of Harris, dynamic pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. practiced on Wednesday for the first time in a month due to an ankle injury. There seems to be optimism on Anderson Jr. being ready for Sunday, but his usage/effectiveness will be a big key as he plays opposite the productive Danielle Hunter this season.

One positive item to note on the Colts and the cornerback availability for Sunday: Dallis Flowers is the team’s top outside cornerback backup and injured his hamstring last week. Flowers did practice on Wednesday, so that’s a good sign for him this week. But the Colts have 4 of their 16 practice squad spots taken up by cornerbacks (Chris Lammons, David Long Jr., Jaylin Simpson, Ameer Speed), if they’d like to dip there for a call up.

The Colts are now in their regular season practice routine of Wednesday-Friday practices, a walk-through on Saturday and then game on Sunday. Remember, the Colts have 10 straight 1:00 kicks on Sundays to start the year.

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