The 10-5 Indianapolis Colts need a win in Week 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars if they want a chance to return in the off-season, but they will have to do so without one of their best offensive lineouts. Colts head coach Frank Reich on Wednesday told reporters that left-back Anthony Castonzo would undergo a single operation this season, according to the NFL network.
Castonzo has missed two of the last four games due to injury, but his ankle issue is something that has only surfaced in the past week. He suffered an MCL sprain during the Colts’ Week 12 defeat to the Tennessee Titans, which caused him to miss the next game. Castonzo returned after that, but played only 75 percent of the offensive snaps in the Week 14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The first round of the NFL Draft in 2011 became a mainstay in Indy’s injury report, and the team decided it’s better to shut him down for the rest of the season so they can get him healthy again. for 2021. Unfortunately, Castonzo’s backup, Le’Raven Clark, was placed on an injured reserve earlier this month, so the Colts will have to roll with Chaz Green or Will Holden on the left, even though they have the option of the All-Pro -wait to kick Quenton Nelson outside as well. .
There are five 10-5 teams in the AFC that include the final week of the regular season, including the Colts, and one club will be on the outside to look into when the playoffs are finally settled. If the Colts, Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins all win this Sunday, then it’s the Colts getting a long off-season. They would only become the third 11-man team in NFL history to miss the playoffs. If they do reach the play-offs with another 10-5 team losing on Sunday, it will definitely be difficult to compete in the post-season without Castonzo.