Tag: Kemoko Turay

Colts rule out Xavier Rhodes, Eric Fisher in Week 1 vs. Seahawks

Colts rule out CB Xavier Rhodes, LT Eric Fisher and DE Kemoko Turay in Week 1.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich ruled out three players ahead of the Week 1 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Those three players include cornerback Xavier Rhodes (calf), left tackle Eric Fisher (Achilles) and defensive end Kemoko Turay (groin).

These don’t really come as a surprise for the Colts entering the weekend. Fisher was activated for the first time this week and while he was a limited participant in practice, the Colts probably want to see him log a few full practices before throwing him into the fire.

Rhodes popped up on the injury report Wednesday and wasn’t able to practice at all. Taking his place on the outside will be Rock Ya-Sin.

Turay was a limited participant on Wednesday but was downgraded as the week progressed. Taking his place as a sub-package pass rusher will be Ben Banogu.

The Colts will release their full injury report with designations later on Friday so we will get the updated status for everyone then.

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12 things we learned from first week of Colts training camp

Here are 12 things we learned from the first week of Colts training camp.

The Indianapolis Colts completed their first week of training camp at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield with four padless practices.

It is still very early in camp so we shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions when it comes to position battles or production, but there are storylines taking place surrounding the team. Some are bigger than others, and we got plenty of information from the first week.

Here are 12 things we learned from the first week of Colts training camp:

6 takeaways from Colts training camp practice No. 4

Takeaways from Colts training camp practice No. 4 on Saturday.

The Indianapolis Colts concluded their first week of training camp with a practice on Saturday at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.

With Carson Wentz still out with a foot injury and the Colts awaiting more information, the team rolled with Jacob Eason as the starter with the first-team offense.

Here are six takeaways from training camp practice No. 4 for the Colts:

Colts’ 2021 training camp preview: Defensive end

Previewing the DE group ahead of Colts training camp.

The Indianapolis Colts report for training camp in less than a week with rookies reporting on Saturday, and one of the rookies will be looking to make a major impact in 2021.

The Colts let both of their defensive end starters walk in free agency. Justin Houston is still on the market while Denico Autry signed with the Tennessee Titans. With the additions of some depth free agents and a couple of draft picks, the Colts are banking on their young edge rushers to make an impact.

As training camp approaches, here’s our preview for the defensive end position:

Colts roster ranked middle of the pack by PFF

PFF ranks the Colts roster middle of the pack.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Indianapolis Colts roster as a middle-of-the-pack team entering the 2021 season, coming in at No. 14 in the NFL.

As a part of the ranking, Pro Football Focus went through each team’s biggest strengths, weaknesses and X-factor for the upcoming campaign.

“Biggest strength: Offensive linemen aren’t supposed to dominate the way Quenton Nelson has to begin his NFL career. PFF’s wins above replacement metric recognizes him as the most valuable offensive lineman in the league since he was drafted in 2018, beating out the likes of Zack Martin and Ryan Ramczyk. Nelson is the centerpiece of one of the better overall offensive lines after the Eric Fisher addition helped solidify the left tackle spot. Indianapolis has PFF’s second-ranked offensive line entering the 2021 season behind only the Browns.

Biggest weakness: Rock Ya-Sin has struggled with up-and-down play to begin his NFL career, and last season, there were more downs than ups. Ya-Sin finished his 2020 campaign with a 48.2 coverage grade, and penalties have been an issue throughout his first two seasons. He ranks among the top 10 cornerbacks in the league in accepted penalties since 2019. No signs of improvement early this season could allow Marvell Tell III to compete for a starting job outside after opting out of the 2020 season.”

Those should come as no surprise. The offense will be leaning on the offensive line to be the engine of the unit. It will fuel the rushing attack while keeping new quarterback Carson Wentz upright as much as possible.

For the X-factor in 2021, defensive end Kemoko Turay got the label from Pro Football Focus.

“X factor for 2021: Kemoko Turay got out to a tremendous start to the 2019 season, recording 14 pressures on 61 pass-rushing snaps before an ankle injury prematurely ended his year. That same ankle injury lingered into 2020. As a result, Turay was only able to play 104 snaps this past season without the same kind of explosion he showed prior to the injury. He’ll have an opportunity to take on a larger role in 2021 due to the losses of Justin Houston and Denico Autry.”

The pass rush is a big key to the Colts’ success in 2021. If they can get their edge rushers going, it will lead to much more consistent play from a defensive unit that has a lot of upside for the upcoming year.

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5 Colts with something to prove in 2021

These Colts are out to prove something.

The Indianapolis Colts spent the offseason retooling the roster in hopes of staying competitive in the AFC. In order to do that, they are going to need some players to step up.

Every year on every team, there are players who have something to prove. Maybe they had a down year. Maybe they are looking to bounce back from injury. Perhaps, they are simply looking to continue an ascension through the ranks.

Here are five Colts with something to prove in 2021:

Colts’ Kemoko Turay expects to be ready for training camp

Kemoko Turay is looking to move past his ankle injury.

There was plenty of excitement for the return of Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kemoko Turay during the 2020 season after an ankle injury ended his 2019 campaign, but it was apparent he wasn’t fully himself.

The former second-round pick was still being bothered by the ankle injury and subsequent surgery following the 2019 season. This led to Turay having a minimal impact in 2020 while undergoing another surgery this offseason to repair the posterior tendon.

Even with that surgery this offseason, Turay expects to be ready for training camp by the end of July.

“That’s the plan,” Turay told the media at OTAs. “Because it’s the posterior tendon, I took my time this time to make sure it healed.”

Turay suffered a dislocated ankle during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 of the 2019 season. After going through the initial surgery, Turay ran into some complications during his rehab because of COVID-19.

But now he’s working toward getting back to full health and working on getting back that comfortability of trusting his ankle and his game.

“Being that I missed 14 games it was hard for me to adjust in the beginning. Missing time off and missing eight games being on PUP,” Turay said. “I needed to adjust to running and adjust to the game speed. After a while, as you could see at the end of the season, I started to get a little more comfortable.”

There is some pressure on Turay to perform this season as he’s entering a contract year. That along with the fact that the Colts added Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo in the 2021 draft adds a bit more pressure for Turay to prove he belongs with the Colts for a few more years.

Turay can help the Colts’ pass rush in a great way if he can find some consistency in a role that will ask him to get upfield as quickly as possible.

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9 things we learned from Week 1 of Colts’ OTAs

Week 1 of OTAs is in the books.

The Indianapolis Colts revised their offseason training program and will be holding two weeks of voluntary workouts. The first week of those workouts came to an end Friday.

The Colts won’t hold mandatory minicamp as they typically would in an offseason but instead opted to get all of their OTA sessions in before the month of June arrives. This will give them two full months of rest before arriving back for training camp.

The Colts aren’t doing much at this point in the offseason but there are some takeaways from the team’s media pool.

Here are nine things we learned from Week 1 of Colts’ OTAs:

Kemoko Turay had additional ankle surgery following 2020 season

Turay had ankle surgery after the season.

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard told the media Friday in his pre-draft press conference that defensive end Kemoko Turay had a second surgery on his ankle this offseason.

Turay initially had surgery to repair the fractured ankle he suffered during the 2019 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He worked his way back but had some setbacks due to COVID-19 protocols, which slowed his progression to return.

Ballard told the media that Turay wasn’t quite right during the 2020 season when he returned for the second half of the campaign and got another surgery done this offseason.

Ballard also mentioned they believe he will be fully cleared from the surgery by June, which would be after OTAs and before training camp.

Turay is facing a big year. At the end of his rookie contract, the former second-round pick will have the chance to go out and prove himself worthy of another contract with the Colts.

Turay showed plenty of promise during that short 2019 season before his ankle injury. He was playing with burst, bend and a seemingly improved pass-rush plan. But now, the pressure is on.

Even if the Colts wind up drafting an edge rusher on in the first two rounds, Turay is likely to be a starter as long as he’s healthy. A lot of the pressure will be on him to succeed in getting to the quarterback not only for the team but for his future as a Colt.

Hopefully, Turay’s recovery won’t keep him down too long and he can get back to working with the team during training camp.

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Kemoko Turay predicted to be Colts’ breakout player in 2021

B/R sees a breakout year from Turay.

Every year, there are candidates for potential breakout players across the league. For the Indianapolis Colts, it appears it is time for defensive end Kemoko Turay to join that list.

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report took a crack at predicting each team’s breakout player in 2021. Turay, coming off of a shortened 2020 season was the selection for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts have been patient with 2018 second-round pick Kemoko Turay. Everyone within the organization sees his immense potential, but the edge-defender must find a way to stay on the field.

“Maybe this is the year Kemoko can stay healthy and have a breakout year,” head coach Frank Reich said on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t the Indianapolis Star’s Jim Ayello). “He certainly has the talent for that.”

Turay has an explosive first step plus the length and flexibility to consistently beat offensive tackles. However, over the last two seasons, the 25-year-old has played only 11 games. He registered 2.5 quarterback sacks and eight quarterback hits during that span.

With Justin Houston a free agent and Denico Autry having signed with the Titans, Turay can be the pass-rusher the Colts need.

The pass rush is the biggest concern for the Colts this offseason and after not addressing it during free agency, it is clear the Colts are leaning on Turay to bounce back for the upcoming campaign.

Turay flashed a bit during the 2019 season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. It took him a while to get back in 2020 and now is likely to be leading the room in 2021 looking to prove himself.

The Colts could still add a veteran like Melvin Ingram or Ryan Kerrigan to the roster during free agency but Turay is likely to be one of the leaders for a pass rush that will have plenty of question marks.

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