Some good news for the Indianapolis Colts, with head coach Shane Steichen telling reporters that center Ryan Kelly will be practicing on Wednesday.
As of now we do not know if he will be a full or limited participant, but we will find that out later in the day when the week’s first injury report is released.
Kelly popped up on the injury report with a neck injury on the Thursday before the Colts’ Week 4 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He hasn’t practiced since then and has missed the last two games.
After three games, Kelly had surrendered only three pressures and no sacks, according to Pro Football Focus. By ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric, he ranked ninth among all centers. Kelly was also 15th in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
His impact on this offense, however, starts pre-snap with his ability to identify and set protections, so all blockers are on the same page–not to mention that he’s one of the leaders of this team.
In Kelly’s absence, the Colts have relied on rookie Tanor Bortolini at center and to his credit he has filled in quite well.
With Will Fries on injured reserve, once Kelly is back in the mix on Sundays, perhaps the Colts will slide Bortolini over to right guard to continue getting him regular and valuable in-game reps.
This week the Colts offensive line will face a Titans’ defensive front that ranks 10th in yards per rush allowed and 25th in pressure rate on the quarterback.