The Indianapolis Colts placed tight end Trey Burton on the injured reserve list and claimed defensive tackle Eli Ankou off of the waiver wire from the Browns, the team announced Monday.
Ballard told reporters on Sunday that they are still monitoring the situation ahead of the team’s Week 1 opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, it seems the team believes the injury is more serious than a few weeks.
“We’re still working through it. I can’t say yay or nay yet. We’ll know more in the next couple days,” Ballard said. “We’re just kind of monitoring – seeing where he’s at and seeing what the best course of action is here, whether it’s going to be two or three weeks. We’re working through it.”
As the tight end room struggles with depth, the Colts are likely to lean on Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox to begin the season. They also claimed tight end Noah Togiai from the Eagles following cut-down day. He comes from a similar system to that of Reich’s, which should make his transition smoother. That said, he just joined the offense as the move tight end.
The decision is interesting for the Colts because as Burton goes on the injured reserve list, he would be forced to miss only the first three weeks of the season. That differs from years past where a player on IR before Week 1 would be out for at least eight weeks.
That said, soft-tissue injuries at this time of year aren’t ideal and if he’s not fully healed by the time he comes back from IR, there’s a high chance of re-injury.
Burton figured to be a relatively big part of the passing offense but will now spend the first three weeks of the season healing his calf with the potential of missing more time if it doesn’t get right by the time he’s set to return in Week 4.