When Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner went down on the second play of the Houston Texans' first offensive possession of the day on Sunday, he didn't fear the worst.
His calf hurt, and he knew something was wrong as he laid on the field, but he didn't think his injury would end his season, or anything close to that.
"Felt like I got shot in the calf or something," Gardner said after the game. "But it was high. I wasn't thinking the worst."
Gardner was initially listed as questionable to return but was eventually ruled out of the game and was later seen on the sideline wearing a boot. The Colts didn't offer any specifics as to Gardner's injury.
"I think it's a strain," Gardner said. "I don't think it's an Achilles or nothing like that."
"I don't have any details," head coach Shane Steichen said postgame. "All I know is it's a calf right now."
Cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Mekhi Blackmon saw their playing time increase following Gardner's injury. The Colts' cornerback room has grown accustomed to embodying the "next man up" mentality this season, as both Charvarius Ward Sr. and Kenny Moore II have missed multiple games due to injury; Blackmon had four tackles and Jones had two tackles in the 20-16 loss.
"It was significant, to be honest with you," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "Sauce is an incredible player, similar to when we lost Mooney (Ward) pregame against A.Z., you lose a guy like that, you gotta pretty much shift the whole game plan and a lot of the calls kind of go out the window without certain securities that you had when Sauce was out there. So it definitely affected it. But I felt like the guys that came in played hard, J. Jones and 'Khi. They came in and made some plays to help the team be in a position to win."
