Tag: jelani woods

Jelani Woods looks like man on a mission in workout video

Jelani Woods shows off some real progress.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods lost the entire 2023 season dealing with nagging hamstring injuries, but he appears to be on track to making an impact in 2024.

His absence was nothing short of disappointing considering the explosiveness he brings to the offense. Not being able to see what he looked like in Shane Steichen’s offense was a major letdown.

But a workout video he posted Wednesday should give Colts fans a little hope that we’ll see him on the field in 2024.

The uber-athletic tight end posted some medicine ball workouts emphasizing explosiveness and body control. It’s easy to forget how mammoth of a person Woods is after not seeing him for an entire season.

Woods posted a 25-312-3 receiving line on 40 targets during his rookie season, showcasing some immense explosiveness despite a limited role.

The Colts are likely to address the tight end position one way or another during the 2024 offseason, but this development should bring a sliver of hope for Woods’ return after a long absence.

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10 questions the Colts face entering 2024 offseason

Checking out the biggest questions the Colts face in 2024.

The Indianapolis Colts have a vital offseason ahead of them with the chance to build off an impressive 2023 campaign that ended in heartbreak but one that provided hope, nonetheless.

As we gear up for the 2024 offseason, the Colts will have plenty of ammo to make some big moves in both free agency and the NFL draft. What happens is anyone’s guess, and there will be major questions facing the organization this offseason.

Some of them will be answered over the course of the offseason. Others may not be answered until we get into the regular season.

Either way, here are 10 questions the Colts face entering the 2024 offseason:

Colts’ 5 most disappointing players in 2023

Taking a look at the five most disappointing Colts players from 2023.

Despite the Indianapolis Colts missing out on a playoff run, there were plenty of high marks from the 2023 season. Conversely, the Colts also had their share of disappointing players from the campaign.

Between injuries and poor performance, there were a handful of Colts players who failed to meet expectations during the 2023 season. Some will likely have a chance to bounce back in 2024, but the outlook may not be as encouraging as it once was.

We took a look at the players who exceeded expectations. Now, here are five Colts players who disappointed the most in 2023:

Colts’ Jelani Woods suffered setback with hamstring injury

Jelani Woods suffered a setback.

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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Colts’ Shane Steichen on Jelani Woods returning: ‘We’ll see’

Will Jelani Woods return this season?

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods has yet to make his season debut and the thought of whether it will happen is beginning to come into doubt.

Woods has been on the injured reserve list all season due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the first week of training camp. He missed the entire preseason and has been on the reserve list since the start of the 2023 campaign.

When asked whether he thinks Woods will be ready at all this season, head coach Shane Steichen stuck to his typical non-answer.

“We’ll see.”

That has been Steichen’s typical answer for injuries throughout the season. He rarely gives updates and most of the time it’s a choice between “We’ll see” and “He’s progressing well.”

“He keeps working through his rehab process,” Steichen said. “When the time’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

Coaches rarely dive deep into injuries unless it’s a serious ailment and even then, the majority of coaches don’t like to comment on a prognosis.

With Woods, though, it has been a major mystery. It was reported that the second-year tight end tore his hamstring, the same one he dealt with during the spring, which also forced him to miss some time.

The tight end room certainly could use his skills as a receiver. While Andrew Ogletree has been a promising development in that area and Kylen Granson has proven to be a decent safety valve, Woods brings a different element of explosiveness.

Considering the lack of information we have, Woods could return to practice next week or we may not see him until 2024.

Regardless, the anticipation to see him work in Steichen’s offense is high.

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Colts’ Jelani Woods ‘progressing well’ with hamstring injury

Jelani Woods is seemingly progressing with his hamstring injury.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods has been nursing a hamstring injury since suffering a setback during training camp, but he remains on the injured reserve list heading into the second month of the season.

Woods dealt with a hamstring injury during the spring workouts and then re-injured the hamstring during training camp. He reportedly suffered a hamstring tear, which led to him being placed on the injured reserve list to begin the season.

Woods has yet to be designated to return, and it still isn’t clear when the second-year tight end will be back on the field.

Head coach Shane Steichen didn’t have much of an update when asked by reporters Friday.

“Yeah, he’s progressing well. Once he’s cleared off IR, he’ll be off IR,” Steichen said.

There was a lot of hope that Woods would be a big part of the passing game in Steichen’s offense. We’ve seen glimpses from Drew Ogletree and Kylen Granson of how the tight end position can impact the passing game, and Woods would provide an immediate boost to the room.

However, the uber-athletic tight end is still working his way back from the hamstring injury, and it isn’t clear when he’ll be designated to return.

For now, the Colts will roll with Ogletree, Granson, Mo Alie-Cox and rookie Will Mallory as the tight ends on the active roster, and it will be interesting to see how the roster is constructed when Woods returns.

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Colts place TE Jelani Woods on IR among several roster moves

Jelani Woods will start the season on the injured reserve list.

The Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods was placed on the injured reserve list among several roster moves, the team announced Wednesday.

Woods has been dealing with a torn hamstring since the start of training camp, which was the reaggravation of the injury he dealt with during the spring workouts.

The second-year tight end was held out of the majority of training camp and the entirety of the preseason. Because he was placed on the injured reserve list after the waiver process concluded, he will be eligible to return but after he’s forced to miss the first four games of the season.

The Colts made three roster claims Wednesday in the forms of offensive tackle Ryan Hayes, guard Josh Sills and linebacker Isaiah Land.

In order to make room on the roster for those three waiver claims, the Colts waived defensive tackle McTelvin Agim and guard/tackle Carter O’Donnell. They also released wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who was almost immediately re-signed to the roster.

Colts’ Jelani Woods dealing with torn hamstring?

Colts TE Jelani Woods is recovering from a torn hamstring.

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jelani Woods missed most of training camp and the entire preseason due to a hamstring injury. Now, we may have an update on the severity of that injury.

Because the Colts don’t have to put forth an injury report during camp, it’s difficult to know the severity of some injuries. With Woods, it appears he suffered a torn hamstring during the first week of training camp, per Nate Atkins of The Indianapolis Star.

That certainly would explain the lengthy absence from training camp and the preseason, and it lines up with what Woods was dealing with during the spring workouts.

Woods dealt with a hamstring injury during the offseason training program, and he wasn’t able to get on the field much at all throughout OTAs and minicamp.

He returned to training camp telling reporters he was a full-go at the end of July. Unfortunately, Woods left the fourth practice of training camp early and hasn’t returned to practice since.

Because we don’t know the grade of the tear, it’s best to view his recovery timeline as indefinite until more updates are provided. The severity of the tear highly dictates how long the recovery will take, and it’s pretty clear this is a re-injury from the spring.

Considering the indefinite timeline, Woods is a candidate to begin the season on either the reserve/PUP list or the injured reserve list. Going on the PUP list would force Woods to miss the first four weeks of the season. The same goes for the injured reserve list, but the Colts would have to carry Woods on the initial 53-man roster and then put him on the list following the conclusion of the waiver period the following day.

This certainly will be a situation to monitor over the next week and, hopefully, we can get more information about the injury. But this certainly isn’t the way Woods or the Colts envisioned his second season starting out.

Colts’ injury updates: Shaquille Leonard expected back soon

Here are some injury updates for the Colts following the preseason.

The Indianapolis Colts are through the preseason and now will be focused on cutting down the roster to 53 players ahead of the regular-season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But before we get to that, head coach Shane Steichen had some updates—and non-updates—on the status of a few Colts players who have been dealing with injuries.

Here are the latest injury updates as the Colts prepare for the start of the regular season:

5 observations from Day 10 of Colts training camp

Our own Meghan Hall gives her five observations from Day 10 of Colts training camp.

As the first game of the preseason approaches, the Indianapolis Colts are making final tweaks to how they will show up at Orchard Park on Saturday when they visit the Buffalo Bills.

That included a lighter training camp practice on Thursday, which was their 10th practice since the opening of camp. While we conducted a quick roundup of what went down, we’ll dive a bit deeper into the day’s practice.

Here are five observations from Day 10 of Colts training camp: