Potential Replacements for Injured Colts Talents

This one is a bit tricky because a majority of the Colts' cornerback room is injured at the moment. Walley was slated to be the starter alongside Charvarius Ward on the outside, so the door appears to be open for Brents and/or Jones to take over that starting job. Both players are currently out with hamstring injuries, so it remains to be seen if either player will be ready for week one.

After those two in the lineup, the rotation gets a bit dicey. Samuel Womack III started most of last year for the team, but he seems to have had an up-and-down training camp thus far. Undrafted rookie Johnathan Edwards has seen a lot of run with the starting defense, but he is currently in the concussion protocol. Newly signed free agent Xavien Howard just joined the team, but we will have to see how much juice the 32-year-old cornerback still has at this point.

I think the plan, at the moment, is to start Howard until Jones and/or Brents return from injury. Once those two players are back, it will likely be a three man roatation on the outside until one player truly takes hold of the position. Edwards and Womack both still have a shot at making the team, but the addition of Howard likely killed their chances of starting.

Hunter Wohler Replacement

This injury also hurts the Colts in a big way, because losing Wohler is like losing three players in one. He was the backup strong safety, an option at dime/nickel linebacker, and one of the rostered players competing for the personal protector job on punt team. The Colts' starting defense can survive this type of injury, but it limits their depth across the board in a big way.

At strong safety, the likely backup plan is to have Rodney Thomas II be the third safety behind the top two players. If Nick Cross were to go down to injury, then Thomas would slide in at free safety with Camryn Bynum sliding over to strong safety. A player like Daniel Scott or Trey Washington could make the initial roster now as the fourth safety, but that spot will likely be reserved for a special teams player.

As for dime/nickel linebacker, that role will likely be handled by committee now. Zaire Franklin will get his fair share of snaps along with Joe Bachie to run on passing downs. We will also likely see a good bit of three-safety action with Cross coming down in the box and Thomas and Bynum over the top as deep safeties. The personal protector role on special teams will almost certainly go to Thomas or Scott now as well.

Blake Freeland Replacement

The injury to Freeland doesn't feel as significant as the other two, but it is still a rostered player that the team needs to replace. Freeland was set to be the number nine offensive lineman, the number four offensive tackle, on the team this year after presumably losing the swing tackle battle to Jalen Travis in camp.

Luke Tenuta appears to be the next man up, as he stepped in for Freeland last Saturday and looked solid in about a half of action. Tenuta has been with the Colts in the past, so the team clearly likes him to some degree. This could also be a spot where the Colts add an outside free agent, as they worked out a few notable names like Cameron Flemming and Prince Tega-Wanogho the other day.

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