INDIANAPOLIS — The injury bug continues to haunt the Indianapolis Colts. Team officials confirmed Friday that both cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Bob Sanders have been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
Jackson, who missed the second half of the 2008 season after injuring his right knee during practice, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee during a non-contact drill on Wednesday. He had been rehabbing his left knee after he was hurt against Seattle on Oct. 4.
Sanders, meanwhile, tore his left bicep against the 49ers last week. He is slated to undergo surgery, although a date for the medical procedure as yet to be announced.
Sanders had just returned to the Colts’ lineup two weeks ago against St. Louis after missing all of training camp and the first five games of the year after undergoing offseason knee surgery.
Sanders visited with nationally recognized sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday in order to gather additional information on the injury. He has missed 40 out of a possible 87 games during his injury-plagued six-year NFL career.
Indianapolis’ other veteran cornerback, Kelvin Hayden, is also expected to be sidelined for the next three to four weeks after he incurred a sprained knee during last week’s 18-14 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Hayden is not expected to undergo surgery.
“Not real sure [how long Hayden will be out]. We’re kind of looking at probably a three to four week window. Somewhere in there. But that depends,” Colts coach Jim Caldwell said Friday.
Indianapolis is expected to start rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey at cornerback along with third-year veteran Melvin Bullitt at strong safety. Bullitt has started 14 of 22 games over the past two seasons.
Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, meanwhile, underwent arthroscopic surgery Thursday to clean out loose particles in his right knee. Gonzalez suffered a sprained ligament in the knee during the Colts’ season-opening win over Jacksonville. He had hoped to be back in time for next week’s home game with New England.
The Colts’ 2007 first-round draft pick had begun light positional work last week when he suffered a setback in his recovery. A date for his return to practice has yet to be determined.
“We haven’t quite gotten [a date for his return] yet, but I’m assuming that probably within the next couple of days we will have it. But I haven’t got the prognosis yet,” the Colts coach said.
Rookie running back Donald Brown’s availability for the Houston game has yet to be decided. Brown incurred a left shoulder contusion in the Rams game on Oct. 25. He did not play against the 49ers.
Brown did not practice Friday, although he was able to take part in the team’s workouts earlier in the week. He is listed as questionable and is expected to be a game-time decision.
“There’s still some question. We’ll see what happens. But there’s still some question there,” Caldwell said.
• Friday practice report — In other injury news, wide receiver Pierre Garcon (ankle), defensive tackle Fili Moala (concussion), offensive tackle Tony Ugoh (rest) and placekicker Adam Vinatieri (knee) did not practice Friday.
Garcon and Moala are both listed as questionable for the Houston game. Wide receiver Reggie Wayne (rest), safety Jamie Silva (hip) and defensive end Robert Mathis (rest) all missed Thursday’s workout but were able to practice Friday. All three will be able to play against the Texans.
• Roster moves — Defensive end Josh Thomas has returned to the team for the second time this season. Thomas originally played with the Colts from 2004-08, starting 12 of the 68 games in which he participated. He was brought back briefly during training camp in August.
The Colts also signed tight end Tom Santi off the team’s practice squad. Santi, a sixth-round draft pick last season, appeared in six games with Indianapolis as a rookie. He has 10 career receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown reception against Houston last year.
• Tickets available — The Texans have returned over 300 tickets for Sunday’s game.
Tickets are available at the Lucas Oil Stadium ticket office, Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000 or at www.ticketmaster.com.
• Flyover Sunday — Team officials announced Friday that four UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters will be flying over Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday prior to the Colts-Texans game.
The flyover will go north to south at approximately 1 p.m. over the stadium.
n Roof may be open for Texans game -- Due to a favorable weekend weather forecast, the roof at Lucas Oil Stadium may be open for Sunday’s game with Houston.
A final decision will be made Sunday morning. Fans are urged to dress appropriately for the possibility of outdoor weather.
Colts
Sanders, Jackson placed on injured reserve
- Colts
-
-
Colts welcome Manusky aboard as defensive coordinator
On Thursday, Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, coach Chuck Pagano and potential No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck led the parade.
Grigson and Pagano confirmed the hiring of several assistant coaches, including defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, Marwan Maalouf (special teams), Roy Anderson (safeties), Alfredo Roberts (tight ends) and Brandt Boyer (assistant special teams). -
Mathis, Garcon at top of Colts’ wish list; Wayne isn’t
Expect defensive end Robert Mathis and wide receiver Pierre Garcon to be priorities for the Indianapolis Colts during free agency.
-
Manning tiptoes around health questions
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and team owner Jim Irsay came to an agreement last week to keep any lingering issues about Manning's future with the team on the backburner during Super Bowl week.
-
Back home again in Indiana
Former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell has landed a job as quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens announced Caldwell’s hiring Monday.
-
Patriots first to arrive in Indy
Welcome to Super Bowl Week.
-
Pagano wants aggressive defense with Colts
When the Colts went looking for a new head coach, a good portion of the team’s fans made it clear that they wanted a departure from the laid-back style of former coaches Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell.
-
Irsay: Manning comments should have stayed in-house
Not only did the Colts introduce new head coach Chuck Pagano during an afternoon press conference, team owner Jim Irsay also made his feelings known about recent comments that quarterback Peyton Manning made.
-
Colts go with defensive specialist
The Indianapolis Colts, after a weeklong search process, finally landed themselves a head coach Wednesday.
-
Caldwell can’t survive 2-14 season in Indy
The offseason moves just keep on coming for the Indianapolis Colts.
-
Colts fire head coach Caldwell
Tribune-Star correspondent Tom James reports that Colts head coach Jim Caldwell has been fired. No other details are known at this time.
-
Colts hire Eagles exec Grigson as GM
The Indianapolis Colts formally announced former Philadelphia director of player personnel Ryan Grigson as the team’s new general manager Wednesday.
-
Colts hire Eagles executive Grigson as GM
The Indianapolis Colts have hired Eagles executive Ryan Grigson as their new general manager.
-
Irsay: Colts are in 'rebuilding stage'
So are the Indianapolis Colts in a retooling or a rebuilding mode heading into the offseason?
If you ask the players, they would prefer to use the retooling philosophy. In their minds, get some injured players back and the Colts can be right back in the thick of the AFC South title race and once again be a contender for the AFC championship.
Team owner Jim Irsay, though, sees a tougher road ahead. -
Colts give the boot to Polian duo
It didn’t take long for Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to start making moves with his team.
One day after Irsay’s Colts dropped a 19-13 road decision to Jacksonville, giving Indianapolis a 2-14 record and the No. 1 pick in the 2012 National Football League draft, longtime Colts executive Bill Polian and his son, vice-president/general manager Chris Polian, were both fired.
-
Interesting subplots abound in Colts-Jags game
This afternoon’s AFC South matchup between the Indianapolis Colts (2-13) and Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11) is the regular-season finale for both teams.
-
Colts players a fan of Murphy's promotion to defensive coordinator
Cohesion. That’s the word the keeps coming up when coach Jim Caldwell and many of the team’s players are asked about the turnaround of the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive unit.
-
To win or to lose? For Colts fans, it's not an easy question
With the No. 1 draft pick on the line if the Indianapolis Colts were to lose Sunday at Jacksonville, it’s easy to see why a lot of the team’s fans wouldn’t mind seeing the team fall to the Jaguars.
-
Colts’ Freeney to play in seventh Pro Bowl
Despite a team record of 2-13 heading into the final week of the National Football League regular season, there was some good news coming out of the Indianapolis Colts’ West 56th Street facility Tuesday night.
-
Colts’ last game not without questions
Are the Indianapolis Colts treating Sunday’s game at Jacksonville as the final game of the season or just the next game on the schedule?
-
Colts celebrate second straight division victory
Indianapolis Colts fans finally got a little luck on their side Thursday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It may not have been Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who is expected to the top pick in next spring’s National Football League draft. -
With latest win, Colts provide suspense for 2012 draft position
Now that the Indianapolis Colts have posted two straight wins in their last two games, including Thursday night’s 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston, many of the team’s fans find themselves in quite a quandary.
The Colts will take a 2-13 record into next week’s New Year’s Day regular-season finale at Jacksonville. -
Colts face another tough running test
The credit for the Indianapolis Colts’ win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday can go in a couple different directions.
-
Colts taking no risks with injured Manning
Both Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell are looking to the future when it comes to injured quarterback Peyton Manning.
-
More wins to come?
With a win finally under their belts, the Indianapolis Colts (1-13) now look forward to two days of intensive work beginning today.
-
FINALLY! THEY WON
It was a day of firsts for the Indianapolis Colts.
-
Polian hopes to set ‘record straight’
Indianapolis Colts vice chairman Bill Polian didn’t like what he was hearing prior to and during Sunday’s National Football League home game with the Tennessee Titans.
-
Polian shares thoughts on QB situation
With the Indianapolis Colts’ chances of clinching the No. 1 pick in the 2012 National Football League draft getting closer with each succeeding loss, talk among fans and team observers invariably goes to the possibility of the team selecting Stanford junior quarterback Andrew Luck.
-
Colts prepared for Hasselbeck or Locker
The Indianapolis Colts defense is preparing to face a two-pronged offensive attack when the Tennessee Titans visit Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday.
-
Colts could still become spoiler
Time is running short for the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.
-
Colts have three more chances to win
The Indianapolis Colts may be 0-13 for the season, but the team keeps battling.
- More Colts Headlines
-
Colts welcome Manusky aboard as defensive coordinator








