The Colts defense could be without one of their top young playmakers—as the team awaits word on his exact injury.
According to FOX59’s Mike Chappell, the status of Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon’s injured Achilles is still being determined—as the team awaits exact results of his recent medical evaluations:
“The second-year safety was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice after suffering an Achilles injury,” Chappell writes. “The team is awaiting results of medical evaluations to determine the exact nature and severity of the injury, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.”
Blackmon was listed as a limited participant during Wednesday’s team practice, which at least seems encouraging that he may have safely avoided a potential season-ending Achilles tear or other lengthy injury (although he may have suffered the injury during practice itself).
That being said, any loss would be a significant one to the Colts starting secondary.
Blackmon’s hard-hitting tackling and elite play-speed has brought a big boost to the backend of the Colts defense—especially against the opposing ground game.
The 2nd-year ascending playmaker safety has 34 tackles (27 solo), 2 tackles for loss, a pass defensed, and a forced fumble during all 6 starts.
Per PFF (subscription), Blackmon is currently their 46th best graded safety with a +60.7 overall grade—including a strong +81.1 grade in run defense.
His potential absence explains why safety Josh Jones was just signed to the Colts practice squad—with veteran backup safety Andrew Sendejo also still in the league’s concussion protocol.
Here’s keeping our fingers crossed that the eventual update on Blackmon’s injured Achilles is a positive one—all things considered.