Colts DE Arden Key To Miss Time

Key suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday, and head coach Shane Steichen said a spell on the sidelines would wind up being necessary after the game. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Key is expected to miss three to four weeks. Steichen indicated (via Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star) a decision on injured reserve has not been made yet, although that will no doubt receive consideration.

A move to IR would require at least a four-game absence. Whether or not the Colts take that route, being without Key for a notable period will deal a blow on defense. Laiatu Latu and Key have each handled a heavy workload early in the season. While neither member of that pairing has registered much in the way of pass rush production, a lack of established depth options has limited Indianapolis’ options. Now, the team will be forced to turn to other in-house edge defenders.

“We’ll work through that,” Steichen said when speaking about potential Key replacements. “Obviously, [Caden] Curry’s been playing in there, Jaylahn [Tuimoloau] is in there. We’ll see how the week goes with [George] Gumbs, possibly. We’ll work through that this week.”

Tuimoloau played sparingly as a rookie, but he had the opportunity to carve out a starting role this past offseason. The 2025 second-rounder did not impress during training camp to the point he was a first-team option, however, leading to a larger Key workload than the Colts expected. Now, Tuimoloau and others will have the opportunity to take on a significant defensive snap share for at least a short-term period.