The Indianapolis Colts had to find a new punter after it was revealed that Rigoberto Sanchez was to undergo surgery to remove a cancerous tumor this week. This led to the Colts signing veteran Ryan Allen to the practice squad.
Fortunately, the prognosis with Sanchez is “very positive” as head coach Frank Reich put it this week. But the Colts still need a temporary replacement at punter until Sanchez can come back.
So they signed the veteran Allen, and Reich gave a bit of an explanation as to what they saw in him. Part of it has to do with his holding ability.
“He’s a real good holder, just having a chance to watch him up close today get a number of holds. He looked really good,” Reich said Friday. “Obviously, he’s held a bunch so – there is still that little bit of at the beginning of the week or when he first gets here, get with Rod (Rodrigo Blankenship), get the particulars for how Rod likes the ball placed, get a feel for Rod’s pre-snap routine so to speak – so the timing and the rhythm and everything feels good. Real smart guy, just came in like a pro and I think we’re all systems go.”
It isn’t clear how long the Colts will be without Sanchez. As of this writing, he’s still on the active roster. But he could be loved to the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list if they wanted to make room for Allen for the remainder of the season.
But that remains to be seen. Instead, the Colts will be rolling with the veteran punter as Indy looks to make a playoff push with five games remaining.
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