The toe injury that Colts’ tight end Jelani Woods sustained in the preseason game against Arizona is not expected to be serious, according to Nate Atkins of the Indy Star.
Atkins adds that it sounds like there is a “good chance” he could play in the preseason finale against Cincinnati on Thursday.
Woods would exit the game in the second quarter and was initially listed as questionable to return. He was later ruled out. Woods did not have any receptions in the game, although he’s steadily improved as a blocker.
The general consensus from training camp seems to be that Woods has underwhelmed. On Joel Erickson’s most recent roster prediction for the Indy Star, he left Woods off of it.
With Woods missing all of the 2023 season with hamstring injuries and, to a degree, still getting acclimated to Shane Steichen’s offense, it’s not terribly surprising that he hasn’t dominated in practice, but certainly one would like to see more consistency from him, especially with his athletic traits.
Woods very well could find himself on the roster bubble, but cutting him would be giving up on quite a bit of upside.
With his elite speed and size, he can be a matchup problem over the middle of the field, particularly in Shane Steichen’s RPO-heavy offense. Continuing to prove he can be a capable blocker will get him more opportunities as well.
With that said, Woods needs to regularly show that he can be that impact player for this offense, and generally speaking, he needs as many reps as he can get right now after missing his sophomore season.