The Indianapolis Colts were without Ryan Kelly during Wednesday’s practice as the team prepares for their Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kelly has been sidelined with a neck injury. He missed practice on Thursday and Friday of last week and then did not play this past Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Despite the ups and downs that the Colts have navigated on offense in the early going, the offensive line play has been quite good, providing some needed stability to that unit.
Leading the way from the interior is Kelly. Through three games, Kelly had surrendered just three pressures and no sacks, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and ranks ninth among centers in ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric. He’s also 15th out of 36 eligible centers in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
Filling in for Kelly this past Sunday was rookie fourth-round pick Tanor Bortolini, who not only made his first NFL start, but saw his first NFL action against a very good Steelers defensive front.
However, Bortolini was able to impress in his debut. For more on that, click here.
This week the Colts offensive line will face a Jaguars defensive front that ranks 15th in pressure rate and sixth in yards per rush allowed.