Following Friday’s practice, Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Shane Steichen ruled wide receiver Josh Downs out for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Per Coach Steichen, Josh Downs has been ruled out for #HOUvsIND.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) September 6, 2024
With Downs not having practiced all week, this decision does not come as a huge surprise. Although Downs won’t be playing, he has been off to the side during practice working out with a trainer and believes he is close to returning.
“I feel good,” said Downs on Thursday. “Just working everything. Getting back to it, but I feel good.”
Downs suffered the high ankle sprain that he’s dealing with during practice on August 7th and has been sidelined since. While neither the Colts nor Downs have given a specific timetable for his return, Ian Rapoport would report that Downs was expected to miss 4-6 weeks, putting his return at anywhere from Week 1 to Week 3 of the regular season.
Replacing Downs’ production will certainly be no easy task. He’s coming off an impressive rookie season where he finished second on the team in receiving yards with 771 and was emerging as a go-to target of Anthony Richardson’s during training camp.
As we saw during the preseason and training camp practices, we will likely see AD Mitchell in the slot, with Anthony Gould potentially worked in as well, specifically as a motion man–a role Downs has also been asked to fill.