The AFC South-leading Colts are off to an 8-2 start and vying for the No. 1 seed in the conference. Their chances to secure the AFC’s top spot could increase if they welcome back corner Charvarius Ward and linebacker Jaylon Carlies in the coming weeks. The team announced that it has designated both players to return from IR.
The Colts will have 21 days to activate Ward and Carlies. Ward has been on the shelf with a concussion since Oct. 18, while Carlies hasn’t played at all this season as a result of an ankle injury. He landed on IR with a designation for return in August.
After spending three seasons in San Francisco, Ward joined the Colts on a three-year, $60MM contract last March. Two concussions have limited the former Pro Bowler to four games (all starts) this season, but he has thrived when healthy.
Pro Football Focus rated Ward as the league’s second-best cornerback at the time of his IR placement. The 29-year-old has recorded 13 tackles and three passes defensed this season.
Just under three weeks after they put Ward on IR, the Colts swung a blockbuster deal for Jets star corner Sauce Gardner at the Nov. 4 trade deadline. If Ward comes back this year, he will join Gardner and nickel corner Kenny Moore to comprise one of the league’s best trios on paper. Gardner led Colts CBs in snaps in his debut with the team in Week 10, a 31-25 win over the Falcons in Berlin. Mekhi Blackmon started opposite Gardner on the outside.
With the Colts coming off a bye, Ward could return as early as this Sunday for a highly anticipated matchup with the Chiefs – one of his former teams. Carlies may join him as a reinforcement.
A 2024 fifth-round pick from Missouri, where he played safety, Carlies started in six of 10 appearances and made 36 tackles as a rookie. Although Carlies missed seven games with a leg injury in 2024 and underwent offseason shoulder surgery, the Colts expected him to work as a full-time starter alongside Zaire Franklin this year. Carlies’ ankle issue has prevented him from factoring in, however.
Germaine Pratt, who signed with the Colts in October, has taken over as a starter next to Franklin. Even if Pratt continues to hold down that spot, Carlies’ comeback would give defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo another intriguing option.