The Indianapolis Colts were without starting center Ryan Kelly, who was inactive on Sunday due to a neck injury. This meant that rookie Danny Pinter had to step in to anchor the middle of the offensive line.
While the Colts’ front as a whole struggled more than usual with two of its starters out with injury, quarterback Philip Rivers couldn’t help but praise the rookie in his first career start.
“Yeah, I think Danny (Pinter) did a heck of a job today. Danny was in his first, a rookie and I thought he did a heck of a job,” Rivers said after the game. “Obviously, I’m not evaluating or grading his play but I’m saying I thought he did a heck of a job handling it the way he did. I thought we did good as far as our identifying all the pressure stuff.”
Pinter was on the field for the entire game, playing 100% of the snaps along with the rest of the offensive line—excluding Anthony Castonzo and Le’Raven Clark.
The Colts drafted Pinter in the fifth round expecting him to sit a while behind the starters on the interior, but he showed he can step in when needed. Even against a Titans front that doesn’t consistently generate pressure, Pinter stepped up for the Colts.
“There were some where I would have liked to of helped our backs out a couple times but shoot, I thought Danny stepped in and did a nice job,” Rivers said. “At the same time, you want to compliment Ryan (Kelly) because you are replacing arguably the best center in the league, but Danny did an admirable job stepping up.”
The Colts are hoping that Kelly can return for the Week 13 game against the Houston Texans, but it’s an encouraging sign to see Pinter developing quickly enough to where he can step up in a bigger role soon.
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