Stampede Blue
The Colts could be without their standout starting left tackle for Sunday Night Football against a stingy Minnesota Vikings defense.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen indicated on Monday that starting left tackle Bernhard Raimann is in the league’s concussion protocol after experiencing symptoms:
It’s unclear when Raimann’s concussion-causing blow to the helmet occurred, as he finished out Sunday’s loss against the Houston Texans (with a surprisingly low +56.3 blocking grade via PFF), without issue.
His PFF pass blocking grade of +60.3 was his lowest all season and by a considerable margin (his 2nd lowest was a +74.3 pass blocking grade against the Packers in Week 2). He allowed 2 sacks, 4 QB hurries, and 6 QB pressures against the Texans, when he had previously allowed just a sack, 4 QB hurries, and 6 total QB pressures the rest of the entire season.
The concussion certainly puts his status for Sunday night’s road primetime matchup against the Minnesota Vikings stingy defense in serious jeopardy.
It would be a key loss to the Colts offensive line, as Raimann is currently PFF’s 9th best graded offensive tackle with a +81.9 overall grade.
In his absence, rookie 3rd round pick Matt Goncalves would likely be the spot-starter along the blindside, matching up against a Vikings front seven that includes familiar foe, Jonathan Greenard, formerly of the Houston Texans who has 5.0 sacks and a forced fumble so far this season—featuring a +82.2 pass rushing grade by PFF (which is 12th best among all edges).
