Colts Notebook: Kenny Moore II Dealing With Achilles Injury
INDIANAPOLIS – Heading into a marquee Week 4 matchup, the Colts have a couple notable injuries to watch.
The Colts (3-0) are an underdog, heading out to the west coast to take on the Rams (2-1) in a 4:05 PM kickoff.
Here is what was learned from the Colts first practice of the week:
-An update to the Kenny Moore II left calf injury. Shane Steichen said on Wednesday after further medical research, the injury to Moore II is more in the Achilles area versus the calf. Steichen said the Colts are still not thinking injured reserve for Moore II (would be a minimum 4-game absence). Obviously, when you hear a calf/Achilles diagnosis, it brings up plenty of red flags, particularly for a quick-twitch player like Moore II at cornerback. And it goes without saying what type of player Moore II is to the Colts.
-With Moore II (calf, Achilles) missing practice on Wednesday, it looks like the Colts have two specific slot options they could turn to on Sunday (assuming Moore II can’t go). Moore II had a boot on his injured left leg at Wednesday’s practice. Mekhi Blackmon has been with the team for about a week and has been playing in some of the Colts sub packages defensively. That’s an option. And with Xavier Howard missing Wednesday, Blackmon could be needed as an outside cornerback, too. And then Lou Anarumo can dip into his own history with Mike Hilton now on the practice squad. For more on Hilton joining the Colts, head here. On Wednesday, Shane Steichen left the door open for Hilton playing this week, wanting to see how the 31-year-old looks in practice first. Hilton said he expects to play. The Colts also have Chris Lammons on their practice squad, who has played nickel snaps for them before.
-No Alec Pierce (concussion) at practice on Wednesday, as he is in concussion protocol. When Pierce missed his one game last season, that meant a big jump in playing time for AD Mitchell. In those 55 offensive snaps Mitchell played last year against the Titans, he had just 1 target. If Mitchell is asked to play a bigger role this weekend, I think it’s fair to assume he would see more than a single ball coming his way. “I think when AD’s (Adonai Mitchell) number is called, AD is going to be ready for the action,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said on Tuesday. “I’ve kind of sat in this chair at this table about 10 different times and said I am betting on AD Mitchell. So, if AD is called to play a very large role in a game plan one week, I’m betting on success for him. He’s a young player. He’s learning. It’s probably not going to be a perfect game. We’ll have some plus grades and some minus grades on our coaching sheet, but AD is really coming along as a young receiver. We’re excited about him. Look for him to attack his role each week and try to make the most of it. If the role is bigger, then make the most of a bigger role. If the role is smaller, make the most of what your role is. That’s what we’ve all got to do on this offense, on this team, to be a part of a good Colts team. So AD is going about his business the right way. He’s working hard. I saw him putting in work just a few minutes ago here on a Tuesday. He’s putting in the work that’s needed to be put in to go have success…Like I said, I think the future is bright for him. He’s got to go put in the work and go earn that bright future. Go earn that success. But I see him doing it. I see him working the right way. I think Year Two is shaping up to be a good one for him, but there’ll be some opportunities for him out there. We’ll look forward to watching him go try to take advantage of them.”
-Couple additional injury notes after observing Wednesday’s practice, the Colts appeared to be without 3 more starters: RG-Matt Goncalves (boot on right foot), DT-DeForest Buckner, CB-Xavien Howard.
-What is the most impressive aspect to Daniel Jones’ game so far? You could go in a lot of different directions, which we did here. But the consistency of Jones has been remarkable. He’s the only NFL QB with at least 225 yards passing, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions in each of the first 3 games this season. And the Colts, led by Jones, lead the league in first down efficiency (gaining at least 4 yards on 59 percent of first downs). On Wednesday, Steichen was asked about the most impressive aspect to the start for Jones: “A lot of it’s pretty darn good right now,” Steichen began. “One aspect, just operating, I think in the huddle. I think that’s a huge part of it. Obviously, he’s playing at high level right now. He’s making great decisions. He’s throwing the ball efficiently. We’re getting the explosive plays that we need. But I think the biggest thing that people don’t see is that communication in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage, in the meeting rooms. I mean, that stuff is paying huge dividends for us.”
-Simply, what a great matchup on Sunday. Two teams that have shown plenty of quality play to start this season. The offenses gest a ton of attention but each team has had some nice moments from their defense, too. The Colts are a 3.5 point underdog for Sunday, the biggest underdog for the team in their last 7 games. As the Colts have built a 3-0 start to their season, Steichen has asked his team to go back to a “Day 1 mindset” when approaching their weekly work. “That’s pretty much as simple as, the first day you get hired anywhere. You get a job where you get hired, you get hired at ESPN, it’s that, it’s that day one mentality, like, ‘Shoot, I got hired. Like, you’re excited.’ And I said that to the players. It’s like, hey, it’s, it’s day one. It’s like, remember the first day you got drafted, or the first time you took that field, that feeling you had. We can’t lose that feeling. And it’s got laser focus all the time.”
-Is this a Charvarius “Mooney” Ward shadow assignment game? How does the Kenny Moore II (calf) injury impact that sort of decision? Rams star wideout Puka Nacua leads the NFL in 333 receiving yards this season. And you also have Davante Adams ranking 15th in the league with 213 yards. It’ll be interesting to see how Lou Anarumo plans to cover those two, while also knowing the vital need to disrupt Matthew Stafford from a pressure standpoint.
-No Colts running back in team history has gotten off to a better 3-week start to a season than Jonathan Taylor here in 2025. And it’s worth pointing out how great Taylor has been since that infamous drop of the ball on the goal line in Denver last December. Since that game, Taylor has had the following rushing yard games: 218, 125, 177, 71, 164, 102. His 858 yards in those games easily leads the NFL and is one of the best 6-game spans of Taylor’s career. Specifically, Taylor has averaged an eye-popping 5 yards more per carry in the second halves of games this season. On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter commented on that: “He’s just relentless going about his business, carrying the football,” Cooter said. “There are going to be certain games where, whether or not you have a certain plan going in, and the defense makes an adjustment and you have to readjust sort of your run game plan or maybe different aspects of the offense are working a little bit, and it loosens up some of those run looks. I think sometimes that factors into maybe a run feeling a little bit different in the first quarter than the third or the fourth. But JT keeps coming. JT gets stronger as the game goes on. I think he’s out there running hard whether it’s the first quarter, the fourth quarter. Anytime he’s out there able to play, he’s out there playing hard. Our guys up front are blocking hard. Shoot, whether it’s first half or second half, look to keep giving him those opportunities. He’s certainly made the most of them. Been fun to watch him, watch him run and hit a couple of those things – make some of those moves in space and be able to celebrate some touchdowns.” Don’t forget about the Taylor/Rams matchup this week. The Rams held Saquon Barkley to 2.6 yards per carry last week, the lowest for Barkley in an Eagles uniform.
-The Colts don’t sound too worried about their pass rush through 3 weeks. But they need it humming against Matthew Stafford on Sunday. Stafford gets rid of the ball the 3rd fastest of any NFL quarterback this season, so “getting him off his spot” is a vital key for Lou Anarumo this week. Stafford has faced Anarumo twice in his career, with mixed results: 44-of-73, 554 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs, 8 sacks. On Wednesday, Shane Steichen offered ample praise for the career of Stafford, lauding the toughness of the 17-year vet.
-On Wednesday, the NFL announced Jonathan Taylor as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for a second straight week. Taylor had 17 carries for 102 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns last week. According to the Colts, Taylor is the first player in team history to win player of the week awards in consecutive weeks.
-The Colts are now in their regular season mode, practicing Wednesday-Friday. With no Thursday night game or bye week until November, this should be their normal cadence for the first half of the 2025 season. The Colts will leave a couple hours earlier on Saturday afternoon (around 1:00 PM) for their long plane ride out west.
