The Indianapolis Colts will list six players as inactive for their Week 8 matchup with the Houston Texans.
OL Danny Pinter
DE Genard Avery
QB Sam Ehlinger
WR Anthony Gould
CB David Long
DE Isaiah Land
Overall, no real surprises on this week’s inactive list because the Colts are relatively healthy coming into this pivotal AFC South matchup.
To start with the obvious, and as expected, both DeForest Buckner and Jonathan Taylor will be available for this matchup.
Avery was ruled out on Friday and also at defenisve end, the Colts will list Land as inactive as well. The defensive line depth as a whole gets a boost with Buckner back in the mix.
Gould and Pinter have been inactive the last several weeks. The Colts have been opting to have tight end Will Mallory available over Gould. Given that the Colts don’t use many four receiver sets, Mallory can provide more flexibility in terms of how he’s used.
With Pinter, I would guess that this is due to the growing confidence that the Colts have in rookies Tanor Bortolini and Dalton Tucker to handle the center and guard positions.
But what is hopefully also a part of that equation is the improved play of tackle Blake Freeland, who had been inactive during the Colts’ first five games.
With Chris Lammons returning and available this week at cornerback, Long was made inactive–although it’s worth noting that the Colts are choosing to go light at this position with only four cornerbacks available.
Lastly, Ehlinger will be inactive, which is always going to be the case as long as Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco are healthy. But because Ehlinger is on the 53-man roster, he is available today as the emergency quarterback option.