The Indianapolis Colts announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have placed veteran center Ryan Kelly on injured reserve.
Kelly will now have to miss at least the next four games. According to the Indy Star’s Joel Erickson, the injury is not season-ending.
The specifics of the injury haven’t been reported. Kelly played all 54 offensive snaps this past Sunday night against Minnesota and has been on the injury report as of late, listed with a calf and knee injury.
This past week, Kelly did not practice on Wednesday but was out there on Thursday and Friday, and then of course played in the game. This schedule has been the norm for him recently.
On the season, Kelly has surrendered one sack and seven pressures. By PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric, he ranks 15th among centers and 26th in run-blocking grade.
With Kelly out, rookie Tanor Bortolini will take over as the team’s starting center. Bortolini has appeared in three other games at center this season, including two starts when Kelly missed time with a neck injury.
At a position that can come with a steep learning curve, Bortolini has played well, allowed only one pressure in 100 pass-blocking snaps and is 21st out of 49 eligible centers in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
With an open roster spot with Kelly on injured reserve, the team also announced that they claimed safety Darren Hall on waivers from Arizona.