Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods suffered a setback during recovery from a hamstring injury, and it’s unclear how long he will continue to miss time.
Head coach Shane Steichen told reporters Monday that Woods’ setback happened to his other hamstring during the recovery process of the hamstring injury that has forced him to miss the first 10 games of the season.
“Jelani actually, he had a setback with his other hamstring during the rehab. That’s where that’s at right now,” Steichen said Monday.
When asked whether the setback was a season-ending injury, Steichen didn’t have an answer.
In what was a promising outlook for the second-year tight end has turned into a season of misery. Woods missed the majority of the spring workouts due to a hamstring injury.
He then declared himself fully healthy at the start of training camp before suffering a hamstring injury during the first week of practices. Woods hasn’t been on the field since, and it seems this latest setback could keep him off the field for the remainder of the season.
We were hoping to see what Woods could do in Steichen’s scheme. The uber-athletic tight end flashed some upside during his rookie campaign, even to the point where we wondered why he wasn’t getting more playing time.
Woods recorded 25 receptions for 312 yards and three touchdowns during his rookie season. He ranked fifth among rookie tight ends in yards and his 1.51 yards per route run mark ranked second among rookie tight ends in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Colts offense could use more explosive production from the tight end position, but it appears that may not happen from Woods’ end in 2023.
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