Tag: Dennis Kelly

Colts not revealing replacement plan for RT Braden Smith

The Colts are keeping Braden Smith’s replacement close to the vest.

The Indianapolis Colts will be without starting right tackle Braden Smith against arguably the best defense in football in the Dallas Cowboys, and it isn’t clear how the team will proceed in replacing him.

Smith will miss the game due to an illness he picked up late in the week. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday was asked how they will replace the starting right tackle, but he declined to give an answer.

“Right now with right tackle, I’m going to kind of keep that to myself. I’d like for us to keep it. But yeah man, obviously losing Braden (Smith) is huge,” Saturday told reporters. “He’s a fantastic player for us, very consistent. So, whatever we go in there, we’ll be confident with it, but I’d like to hold that one until we kick it off.”

There are two likely options the Colts can go in replacing smith. Veteran Dennis Kelly would be the logical option. He’s been working as the backup right tackle over the last few weeks and has the most experience in that role.

The other would be Matt Pryor, which would come much to the chagrin of Colts fans. After failing to secure the starting left tackle and right guard spots, Pryor shouldn’t be on the field in a starting capacity. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this regime forced him onto the field as they did for the majority of the first half of the season.

It may not truly matter who is replacing Smith at right tackle. The Colts offensive line has performed as one of the worst in the NFL while the Cowboys have one of the best defensive lines in all of football, led by Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons.

We’ll see what happens when the Colts begin warmups before Sunday night’s game, but the team will play this close to the vest as much as they can.

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Behind enemy lines: 6 questions with Colts Wire

Kevin Hickey of Colts Wire gave us some great insight into the team’s Week 6 offensive outburst, Dennis Kelly rising to a starter at LT, and much more.

The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts will do battle for the second and final time this season when they meet in Week 7 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Tennessee won the last meeting between these two teams in Week 4, and the last four overall, but Indianapolis comes into this game with a head of steam after having its best offensive performance of 2022 in Week 6.

We went behind enemy lines with Colts Wire’s Kevin Hickey and asked him about the team’s recent offensive outburst, the Titans’ dominance over the Colts, as well as the decision to go to former Titan Dennis Kelly at left tackle.

Check out his answers on those topics and more.

Dennis Kelly listed as starting left tackle on Colts depth chart

The Colts have a new starter listed at left tackle on the depth chart.

The Indianapolis Colts are trying to figure out their offensive line issues, and chiefly among those issues has been the play of the left tackle position. Entering Week 7, we have a new starter listed on the depth chart.

While it seemed the Colts were going to give rookie Bernhard Raimann a chance to win the job outright, he lasted just 11 snaps during the Week 6 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars before veteran Dennis Kelly was brought in.

Kelly wound up putting a strong performance on the field, allowing just one pressure on 54 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Finding the chemistry and the vibe is good. I thought all six of those guys played well, Dennis (Kelly) played well,” said head coach Frank Reich this week. “We’ll see how it goes here in the beginning of the week, but we would anticipate staying like we were but really, really glad to have Dennis and what he’s doing. Also, Bernhard (Raimann), we think he’s going to continue to develop.”

There’s a chance the Colts use a small rotation at left tackle with Kelly and Raimann. Getting Raimann reps in the game will be necessary for his development, but the Colts also need better production from the position.

We’ll see how it all turns out Sunday against the Titans, but it appears Kelly is getting his shot to be the starting left tackle.

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Colts’ PFF grades: Best and worst from Week 6

Taking a look at the best and worst Pro Football Focus grades from the Colts’ win in Week 6.

The Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) came out with a 34-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 6.

It was a big win for the Colts, who needed to get on the board against a division opponent for the first time this season. It was most encouraging to see the offense perform in the highest capacity it had all season. They scored over 30 points for the first time since Week 13 of the 2020 season.

Using 15 snaps played as the qualifying threshold, here’s a look at the best and worst Pro Football Focus grades from Week 6:

Stock report from Colts’ 34-27 win over Jaguars

Stock report from the Colts’ win over the Jaguars in Week 6.

The Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) got their first divisional win of the season in a 34-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

The Week 6 win marked the fifth consecutive time the Colts have beaten the Jaguars at home since Frank Reich took over as head coach. The offense was stellar, giving its best performance of the season, while the defense struggled but came through with stops in significant spots.

Between performance and usage, we can gather a lot of information about a player’s stock. While we know the stock for the big-name players like Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr., it’s the other pieces on the roster whose stock is likely to change the most throughout the season.

It’s important to remember that the stock report is fluid. A player whose stock fell in one week can rise the following week, and vice versa. It’s more about spotting trends and potential for the future based on what we saw in the game that week.

Here is the stock report from the Colts’ win in Week 6:

Colts’ Dennis Kelly questioning his lack of playing time?

Colts OT Dennis Kelly wonders why he hasn’t gotten a chance to play yet.

The Indianapolis Colts have run into a massive problem across their offensive line through the first five games of the season, and one of the biggest questions in recent weeks has surrounded the lack of usage for veteran offensive tackle Dennis Kelly.

Signed during the offseason, Kelly missed the majority of training camp and the preseason due to a knee injury that required a procedure. He’s healthy now, though, and hasn’t been on the injury report since Week 1.

Given the struggles at both offensive tackle positions, it begs the question: why isn’t Kelly getting a chance to play?

It seems we’re not the only ones confused. Kelly himself replied with an answer to that question posed by Zak Keefer of The Athletic.

Maybe this is just a playful response, and Kelly hasn’t found the right time to use this gif of Daniel Levy from “Schitt’s Creek.” Maybe he’s playing this week and we just don’t know it yet.

Or maybe Kelly is like the rest of us. He sees the struggles that the offensive line is enduring and also is wondering why a player with 51 career starts at both tackle positions can’t sniff the field.

But Matt Pryor, who is currently allowing the second-most pressures (18) and tied for the most sacks allowed (five) among offensive tackles, per Pro Football Focus, is getting second and third chances despite his disastrous performance in pass protection.

Regardless of whether Kelly is truly disgruntled doesn’t really matter. What matters is the fact that the Colts have emphasized building through the offensive line and even though they’ve made changes in recent weeks, the results are still the same.

Maybe it’s time to give the veteran a shot because it can’t get much worse.

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1 ruled out, 2 questionable in Colts vs. Texans

These are the players with injury designations for the Colts and Texans.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-0) and Houston Texans (0-0) released their final injury reports with designations Friday ahead of the Week 1 matchup at NRG Stadium.

The Colts had one player ruled out and one player listed as questionable while the Texans had one player listed as doubtful and one player listed as questionable on their final injury report. Both injury reports were pretty light all things considered.

Here are the players with injury designations entering the Week 1 game:

Colts vs. Texans: Final injury report for Week 1

Here is the final Week 1 injury report for the Colts and Texans.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-0) and Houston Texans released their final injury reports Friday ahead of the Week 1 matchup at NRG Stadium.

The Colts had a pretty light injury report throughout the week even if it did feature a major player on the defensive side of the ball. Only one player was ruled out Friday ahead of the Week 1 opener.

Here’s the final injury report for the Colts in Week 1:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
OT Dennis Kelly Knee LP LP FP Questionable
LB Shaquille Leonard Back FP LP LP OUT

Notes

  • With LB Shaquille Leonard being ruled out, expect Zaire Franklin to take his place next to Bobby Okereke in the middle of the defense.
  • OT Dennis Kelly logged a full practice Friday and even though he’s listed as questionable, he’s trending in the right direction to hold a depth role on the offensive line.
  • S Trevor Denbow (ankle) is on the injured reserve list.

Here is the final injury report for the Texans in Week 1:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
DL Rasheem Green Thigh DNP DNP DNP Questionable
DL Mario Addison Thigh LP DNP DNP Doubtful

Inactives for the Week 1 opener will be released an hour and a half before the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday.

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Colts vs. Texans: Updated injury report for Week 1

Here’s the updated injury report for the Colts and Texans in Week 1.

The Indianapolis Colts (0-0) released their updated injury report Thursday ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Houston Texans (0-0) at NRG Stadium.

The injury report continued to be light with a slight change to the participation level of one player.

Here’s the updated injury report for the Colts in Week 1 after Thursday’s practice:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
OT Dennis Kelly Knee LP LP
LB Shaquille Leonard Back FP LP

Notes

  • OT Dennis Kelly was a limited participant for the second day in a row.
  • LB Shaquille Leonard was downgraded to a limited participant. He still has a chance to play as long as he doesn’t log a “DNP” on Friday.
  • S Trevor Denbow (ankle) is on the injured reserve list.

Here is the updated injury report for the Texans in Week 1:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
DL Rasheem Green Thigh DNP DNP
DL Mario Addison Thigh LP DNP

The final injury reports will be released following Friday’s practice and will include injury designations for the weekend.

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Colts vs. Texans: Initial injury report for Week 1

Here is the initial Week 1 injury report for the Colts and Texans.

The Indianapolis Colts were on the field Wednesday for their first official practice of the 2022 season as they prepare for the regular-season opener against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.

There are plenty of names to keep an eye on throughout the week now that the injury reports will come out. The big name to know is linebacker Shaquille Leonard who has been working his way back from offseason surgery.

Here’s a look at the initial injury report for the Colts in Week 1:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
OT Dennis Kelly Knee LP
LB Shaquille Leonard Back FP

Notes

  • It’s a light injury report with Kelly, who has been working his way back from knee surgery during training camp.
  • Leonard could practice fully all week and still be a game-time decision. But starting the week as a full participant bodes well for him.
  • CB Isaiah Rodgers Sr. isn’t on the injury report after clearing the concussion protocol.
  • S Trevor Denbow (ankle) is on the injured reserve list.

Here is the initial injury report for the Texans in Week 1:

*DNP = Did Not Participate — LP = Limited Participant — FP = Full Participant*

Player Injury Wed. (9/7) Thur. (9/8) Fri. (9/9) Status
DL Rasheem Green Thigh DNP
DL Mario Addison Thigh LP

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