Colts are turning to young players that haven’t shown what they can do this year now that the playoffs are off the table
Now that the Colts know they won’t make the playoffs, they are giving some young players a big chance to earn bigger roles in the future.
The Indianapolis Colts’ dreams of making the playoffs went up in flames on Saturday as the Houston Texans’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers eliminated them.
Now, they are playing simply for their own morale.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, on the other hand, have their eyes on increasing their playoff seeding. The Colts aren’t making significant changes to their lineup this week, but their inactive list still sent a message. The team is giving some young players a chance to shine, now that the playoffs are off the table.
Colts Week 17 inactives
- Tanor Bortolini, C
- Tyler Goodson, RB
- Reuben Lowery III, S
- George Odum, S
- Dalton Tucker, G
- JT Tuimolau, EDGE
Will Mallory and DJ Giddens get their opportunity after spending most of the year as healthy scratches
TE Will Mallory was likely going to have to get this opportunity due to the injury to Drew Ogletree. I wonder if the Colts would have made him active either way, though. Mallory turned heads in training camp and might be the team’s second biggest threat at the position as a pass catcher.
Rookie DJ Giddens hasn’t made the impact some were hoping to see this season. The Colts have gone with the veterans in the room over him as Taylor’s backups this year in Tyler Goodson and Ameer Abdullah. Today, he gets the helmet, though with Goodson inactive. I’d like to see him get some run behind Taylor over the next two weeks as the team prepares for the future.
The Colts made this decision after learning their season was over just last night. So I’d expect to see more changes made when they have a full week to prepare for their Week 18 matchup with the Texans. Likely, a lot of young players will see their roles increase for that one if today’s choices are a sign of things to come.
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