INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time all season, the Colts have not ruled out at least three players on the Friday before a game.
The Colts will be without WR-Donte Moncrief and C/G-Jon Harrison this Sunday, but it's a pretty healthy group outside of that duo.
Here is the Friday notebook of Bears week with a look at the final injury report and Chuck Pagano's comments about a new-look offensive line, Robert Mathis' health and the Arthur Jones situation.
INJURY STATUS FOR WEEK FIVE
- OUT: OG/C-Jonotthan Harrison (appendectomy): Harrison had an emergency appendectomy last week. Chuck Pagano expects Harrison to be back next week. This will be Harrison's second straight game missed.
- OUT: WR-Donte Moncrief (shoulder): The original diagnosis for Moncrief had him missing four-to-six weeks with a fractured scapula. This is Moncrief's third consecutive game missed.
- QUESTIONABLE: CB-Darius Butler (hamstring): It's looking like Butler will be back on the field for the first time since Week Two.
- QUESTIONABLE: T-Denzelle Good (back): Good left that Denver game in Week Two with a back injury and missed the next two games. Good has returned to practice and is expected to play on Sunday.
- QUESTIONABLE: OLB-Robert Mathis (foot): A "foot" was listed on the Friday injury report for the reason Mathis did not participate. Chuck Pagano said Mathis has been dealing with some injury problems, but did say he is getting healthier.
- QUESTIONABLE: OT-Joe Reitz (back): After missing the last game and a half, Reitz should be back on the field this weekend.
- QUESTIONABLE: RB-Robert Turbin (wrist, shoulder): Turbin, the team's backup running back, was a new addition to the injury report on Friday.
Chuck Pagano on what the starting offensive line will look like for the Colts this Sunday:
"We are going to put the best five out there, the five that give us the best chance to win."
Bowen's Analysis: Joe Reitz and Denzelle Good are expected to be back this week. However, that doesn't automatically mean they will slide right into their starting right tackle and right guard spots, respectively.
The starting five the Colts had throughout the preseason and the first two weeks of the season isn't necessarily set in stone. Rookie Joe Haeg, who has started at both right guard and right tackle, in place of Good and Reitz, seems to be the one who could enter in the lineup. Has Haeg shown enough to force some changing on the right side of the line?Chuck Pagano on the health of Robert Mathis:
"He's dealing with some stuff.
"He's getting healthier and we're doing the right thing by him and giving him the time that he needs from a practice standpoint and a preparation standpoint so that when he gets to Sunday, he's as fresh as he can be."
Bowen's Analysis: That "stuff" Pagano described on Friday is a foot ailment. Mathis did not practice on Friday and is questionable for this weekend's game with the foot listed as the reason why No. 98 missed the final practice of the week. Mathis also sat out some practice time before Week Two due to a foot injury.
Pagano spoke on Friday how the Colts have to be smart in how they divide up the reps for Mathis. The Colts need some pass rush to emerge, not named Erik Walden. Mathis has played 176 snaps this season, which is 65.9 percent of the defensive total---or the fifth most for any Colts' defender.
Chuck Pagano on possibly having Arthur Jones make his 2016 debut this weekend:
"He knows what is at stake. The reality of it is that he needs to play well and do well. If he does that, he can resurrect his name and we've talked about it. He can do right by his teammates and himself and all that stuff.
"He is a grown man. He is accountable and he knows exactly where he is at and what has happened and he has done the right thing to this point. Now he has to get out on the field and do a great job for us on defense, once that opportunity presents itself."
Bowen's Analysis: Jones practiced this week, his first work with the team since coming off a four-game suspension to start 2016. Pagano cautioned that he's not just going to throw Jones immediately into the action, seeing how he hasn't played football in a month and regular season practice is far less strenuous than what you see in Training Camp.
If the Colts don't fill out their 53-man roster by adding Jones this weekend, the team must make a move on the veteran defensive lineman by Monday. Remember, the defensive line group in Indy is already pretty deep (T.Y. McGill has been a healthy inactive the last two weeks), so the Colts might have to do some shuffling going forward to keep all those big fellas on the 53-man roster.**
FRIDAY'S INJURY REPORT**
-DNP: CB-Vontae Davis (rest), C/G-Jonotthan Harrison (illness), OLB-Robert Mathis (foot), WR-Donte Moncrief (shoulder), RB-Robert Turbin (wrist, shoulder)
-FULL: CB-Darius Butler (hamstring), OG-Denzelle Good (back), RB-Frank Gore (chest), ILB-D'Qwell Jackson (rest), DE-Kendall Langford (rest), QB-Andrew Luck (right shoulder), OT-Joe Reitz (back), OLB-Erik Walden (chest)
