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Riley Leonard injury update: Amid Daniel Jones Achilles tear, Colts get bad news
Daniel Jones will undergo surgery within a week after he tore his Achilles tendon against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday
Daniel Jones will undergo surgery within a week after he tore his Achilles tendon against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. It was reported that the injury would result in the star quarterback missing the rest of the season, leaving the Indianapolis Colts in big trouble.
Jones went down with a non-contact injury as he delivered a pass on a third-down dropback vs the Jaguars. He slammed his helmet to the ground while being evaluated on the field and limped to the locker room under his own power.
Rookie Riley Leonard replaced Jones and completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and one interception. The sixth-round pick also rushed for a score.
The problem doesn't end with Jones' injury. His backup, Anthony Richardson, is already on the Injured Reserve list. He suffered a fractured orbital bone in a bizarre pregame mishap before the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. During warmups, a resistance-band pole broke loose and hit him near the eye, forcing him to undergo surgery to fix the damage. The impact briefly impaired his vision.
Colts coach Shane Steichen said: "It's obviously a tough situation when your starting quarterback goes down with an Achilles. Any time you lose a guy that puts in so much work and so much effort, and is always there for his team and showing up with a fibula injury and goes out there and frickin' plays. Just have so much respect for him."
Meanwhile, in a scary update for the Colts, it was revealed on Monday that Leonard is dealing with knee soreness. However, he will ‘hopefully’ be available vs the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The injury comes at a time in which the Colts (8-5) have dropped four of their past five games to fall behind the Jaguars (9-4) in the AFC South.
"That was definitely a gut punch," Colts running back Jonathan Taylor said. "We've got to catch ourselves. You've got to find some way, somehow, to catch yourself. You're going into a free-fall, whatever it takes, individually and collectively, to put your foot down ... to say we're not going to continue to let this snowball."
Other than the two injuries, CB Charvarius Ward is currently in concussion protocol.
(With inputs from Reuters)
