Stampede Blue
The Colts could be getting two key reinforcements back ahead of a critical Week 15 road matchup against the Denver Broncos.
The Indianapolis Colts announced on Wednesday that both starting center Ryan Kelly and rookie linebacker Jaylon Carlies have been officially designated to return to practice:
That means that the 21-day practice window has officially opened for both players to practice with their Colts teammates, remaining on injured reserve, and they can either be activated or revert to essentially season-ending injured reserve by the end of its closure.
With last week being a bye, Kelly has missed the Colts’ last four games because of a knee injury, but Indianapolis has remained hopeful their veteran starting center could be ready for Week 15 in a critical road matchup against the Denver Broncos’ very tough defense.
Per PFF, Kelly is their 21st best graded center with a +63.7 overall grade during the 2024 season in his 7 starts. Rookie Tanor Bortolini has held his own in Kelly’s absence, and Indianapolis even got a nice spot start from 4th-year veteran Danny Pinter in Week 13.
Meanwhile, Carlies hasn’t seen action since Week 7, since he went down with a fibula injury and was placed on injured reserve thereafter.
The rookie 5th round pick was initially impressive, serving as the Colts third linebacker, recording 21 tackles (14 solo), a sack, and a pass defensed during 7 games (3 starts).
In particular, Carlies could help provide a boost to the Indy pass defense down the stretch, as his PFF coverage grade of +82.0 still remains the 5th best among all NFL linebackers.
Both players could play key roles for the Colts as the Horseshoe makes a final playoff push.
