Stampede Blue
Who’s in, who’s out against the New York Jets on Sunday...
The Indianapolis Colts announced their inactives ahead of Week 11’s road game against the New York Jets on Sunday (1 PM EST, CBS):
While there were no real surprises, as starting left tackle Bernhard Raimann (knee) was already ruled out entering the weekend, his absence will obviously be a critical one. In the interim, Colts rookie 3rd round pick Matt Goncalves will make his 2nd start at the blindside.
Goncalves rejoins a Colts starting offensive line Sunday against the Jets that will already feature two other rookie replacements in recent relief: center Tanor Bortolini, as well as right guard Dalton Tucker—who will be filling in for Ryan Kelly and Will Fries respectively.
The encouraging news is that starting right tackle Braden Smith (personal) was upgraded from ‘questionable’ from Saturday and will presumably be starting and available this Sunday to help provide a solidifying veteran presence against the Jets’ front-seven.
2023 lead wideout Michael Pittman Jr., who missed last week with a lingering back injury and recent finger injury, is returning for the Colts this weekend—which likely means less playing time for rookie wideout AD Mitchell again, who had a bit of a breakout game against the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
Otherwise, demoted longtime veteran quarterback Joe Flacco will continue to serve as the team’s #2 quarterback again behind reinstated 2nd-year starting quarterback Anthony Richardson—as third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger is inactive.
The Colts are relatively healthy defensively with no starting defenders missing this week against the future Hall of Famer, veteran Aaron Rodgers and the Jets offense.
