Colts’ injury updates on Sauce Gardner, Anthony Richardson, and more ahead of the season finale against the Texans in Week 18
As the Colts prepare for their season finale against the Texans in Week 18 they give a massive injury update on multiple key players.
For a team eliminated from the playoff race, the 8-8 Indianapolis Colts sure know how to keep attention on themselves. The team is making a QB change, benching Philip Rivers in favor of a younger option. This creates a conversation about who else on the team won’t be suiting up for the season finale against the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The team is likely to be cautious with any player dealing with an injury now that their focus is on next season. To give us a better idea of who could be in danger of missing Week 18, the team released its opening injury report following Wednesday’s walk-through. This points towards multiple key players not being available, as the Colts look to finish the year above .500.
Colts’ Wednesday injury report ahead of Week 18 matchup with the Texans
As they have multiple times during the second half of the season, the Colts opted for a walk-through on Wednesday instead of a practice. Therefore, everything in the opening section of their injury report is an estimate of what would have happened if a practice had taken place.
Most notably, star cornerback Sauce Gardner was estimated to have missed practice. Gardner aggravated the calf injury that had sidelined him for the previous three weeks during their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The team made a massive investment in Gardner by trading two first-round picks for him, so I would be surprised to see the team send him out there in Week 18. Instead, it seems likely that they will hold him out of practice this week and the game and begin focusing on getting him healthy and more accustomed to the team’s defensive system by Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Another notable update includes QB Anthony Richardson being listed as a full participant. One of the most unfortunate aspects of this season for the Colts is that Richardson wasn’t available to step in after Daniel Jones tore his right Achilles tendon.
Head coach Shane Steichen has already said the team will not activate Richardson off the IR due to the QB still dealing with visual limitations following his eye injury. However, it’s still good to see him progressing well ahead of the offseason. Instead, it will be rookie Riley Leonard getting the start in Week 18.
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