A key defensive starter for the Indianapolis Colts is placed on injured reserve.
After suffering an injury in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons, starting strong safety Julian Blackmon of the Indianapolis Colts has been placed on injured reserve.
The Atlanta Falcons, led by Arthur Smith, embarrassed the Indianapolis Colts on Christmas Eve, 29-10. But during the competition, something worse than a defeat occurred.
Julian Blackmon, the starting strong safety for the Colts, injured his shoulder during an attempted tackle of Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson. He did not come back. His regular season is now over, but James Boyd of The Athletic reports that he might make a comeback in the postseason.
“We have signed S Henry Black off of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad and placed S Julian Blackmon on IR,” the Colts announced in a statement regarding X.
Over his four NFL seasons (all with the Colts), Blackmon was enjoying the best year of his career. Blackmon is placed on injured reserve at the end of the regular season, regardless of whether the Colts advance to the playoffs.
He’ll have a strong final stat line. Some of the metrics are shown below.
15 games (all starts); 88 stops (5 with 5 sacks); 8 interceptions; and 8 passes defended. (Every career high)
In the midst of this development, the Colts signed former Steelers safety Henry Black off of the practice squad to provide much-needed depth. Black played in all 17 games for the Green Bay Packers in 2021, racking up 38 tackles, two passes defended, one forced fumble, and one interception. This gives him significant NFL experience.
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Despite Blackmon’s injury, Black may still not see a lot of playing time despite being a safety or cornerback in Gus Bradley’s defense.
While Blackmon heals, Nick Cross is probably going to step in and fill the big shoes. As the Colts wrap up the regular season and, if Indianapolis manages to make it to the postseason, look for Cross and Rodney Thomas II to start at safety.
Can the Colts recover from both a devastating loss and a serious injury to a key defensive player?
Cross, who has shown flashes of brilliance this season, will now look to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity to show off his skills to the Indianapolis defense in their final two games of 2023, which are must-wins for the team to have any chance of making the playoffs: against the Houston Texans and the Las Vegas Raiders.
