It was reported earlier in the week that Colts’ tight end Jelani Woods would undergo surgery on a toe injury he suffered in the preseason matchup with Arizona.
On Friday, Jordan Schultz would report that the surgery on Woods’ turf toe was a success and that he will be out roughly four months, keeping him sidelined to around Weeks 16 or 17 of the regular season.
Sources: #Colts TE Jelani Woods underwent successful surgery today for turf toe and will miss about four months. The team is hopeful that Woods can return around Christmas in time for a playoff push. pic.twitter.com/v3a2u3QIbs
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 23, 2024
This missed time for Woods comes on the heels of him missing the entire 2023 season while working through various hamstring injuries.
With elite speed for a tight end, coupled with his size, Woods has the potential to be a matchup problem for opposing defenses, particularly over the middle and as someone who can stretch the field as well.
In the limited snaps we saw of Woods in the preseason, it also looked like his blocking had improved as well.
However, according to the repots coming out of training camp over the last month, Woods was unable to find any sort of consistency. A few of the beat reporters even left him off their 53-man roster predictions prior to the injury taking place.
Under the new NFL injured reserve rules, the Colts do not have to put Woods on the initial 53-man roster in order for him to return at some point like in past seasons. Instead, up to two players can be placed on IR without being put on the initial roster and still be eligible to return during the season.
This is probably the path that the Colts take with Woods, who will now begin rehabbing from his surgery.