Indianapolis Colts' Playoff Push Made Even More Difficult By Latest Injuries

The Indianapolis Colts have been dealing with plenty of injuries before and during the 2015 NFL season. Somehow, the Colts have managed to piece together victories even though they are missing a lot of players in key positions. These injury concerns are growing too, because the Colts had to place running back Ahmad Bradshaw on injured reserve with a wrist injury and inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman is listed as week-to-week with a hamstring injury. The Colts are currently battling for first place in the AFC South division, but these injuries are not helping their cause.

Bradshaw and Freeman suffered their injuries last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both had been playing really well recently, as prior to Sunday’s matchup, Bradshaw had scored three touchdowns in two games. He was also the Colts’ primary red zone and third down running back. Meanwhile, Freeman has been one of the team’s leading tacklers on defense. The Colts will have to rely on new and old faces to help fill in the gaps left by both of these players’ injuries.

At running back, the Colts brought back Dan Herron. Herron played all 16 regular season games and three postseason games for the Colts last season. He was supposed to be the team’s backup running back at the start of this season, but a shoulder injury in the final preseason game forced the Colts to cut him when they trimmed their roster to 53 players. Over two months later, the veteran has been re-signed with the hope that he can be a reliable backup running back for their playoff push.

At inside linebacker, Nate Irving replaced the injured Freeman during last Sunday’s game. Irving finished with two tackles, a sack and a pass deflection. This is great production from a player who has been slowly working his way back from an ACL tear. Irving’s recent performance could mean he is finally healthy and can handle playing inside linebacker on every defensive snap.

Injuries are nothing new to the Colts, and Freeman and Bradshaw only add on to an already long list of problems. In addition these two recent injuries, the Colts were already playing without starting safety Mike Adams, starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo and most notably, starting quarterback Andrew Luck. The Colts expect all three of these players to return at some point this season, but the team’s injuries continue to pile up. Fortunately, the Colts have a favorable seven-game stretch to finish their season. Hopefully, the team will continue to grind out wins as it tries to get the roster as close to full strength as possible.

Kyle Nishida is an Indianapolis Colts beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Nishida, “Like him” on Facebook or add him to your network on Google