Injury-riddled Colts DE finally lands on IR

Although the Colts received good news on Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, they will not escape an injury-plagued Week 4 without a malady-driven roster move. That transaction will go to Tyquan Lewis, who has dealt with multiple ailments this season.

Indianapolis placed the veteran defensive end on IR on Tuesday. Lewis came into the Steelers matchup with wrist and calf injuries and went down with an elbow issue late in the Colts’ first win. This IR placement will cost Lewis at least four games.

A depth player in the past, Lewis has started all four Colts games this season. The team signed veteran defensive lineman Adam Gotsis from its practice squad and added cornerback Kelvin Joseph to the taxi squad.

Lewis was part of a four-man second-round contingent on his third Colts contract in 2018. Chris Ballard‘s 2018 second-round output sent Braden Smith, Shaquille Leonard, Kemoko Turay and Lewis to Indianapolis. That ’18 draft produced Quenton Nelson, Zaire Franklin and Nyheim Hines, forming a key section of Ballard’s Indianapolis core. At No. 64 overall, Lewis was the last of the second-rounders Indy chose that year. However, only he and Smith remain from that second-round contingent.

The Colts re-signed Lewis on a two-year, $12M deal ($6.7M guaranteed at signing) in March, with that transaction being part of Ballard’s retention wave. The move came after Lewis had recovered from a severe knee injury — a patellar tendon rupture — sustained in October 2022. Lewis rebounded to play in all 17 Colts games last season, working as a backup. With Samson Ebukam out with an Achilles tear, the Colts have turned to Lewis as a starter this season.

Starting in front of Dayo Odeyingbo and first-rounder Laiatu Latu, Lewis has played 64% of the Colts’ defensive snaps this season. After helping Indy finish in the top five in sacks last season, collecting four himself, the seventh-year veteran has tallied 1.5 early this year. The Colts are now down Ebukam, DeForest Buckner and Lewis. All three are return options, with the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson indicating Lewis’ elbow injury is not viewed as season-ending.

With Lewis joining Ebukam and Buckner on the shelf, Latu and the team’s 2021 first- and second-round picks — Kwity Paye and Odeyingbo (team-high two sacks) — will need to anchor the pass rush. Latu’s presence keeps the Colts in decent shape at DE despite losing two regulars to injury. Lewis’ absence frees up more opportunities for Latu, who saw his early workload change when Ebukam went down before the season.