Colts general manager Chris Ballard on Wednesday discussed a wide range of topics during his annual preseason press conference at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center. A few newsworthy items from the afternoon:
Why Samson Ebukam was designated to return from injured reserve
Ebukam sustained a torn Achilles' on July 28 – the Colts' third training camp practice of 2024 – but notably was not quickly placed on injured reserve after the team confirmed the extent of his injury. Had Ebukam been placed on injured reserve back in July, or at any point before this Tuesday, his 2024 season would've been over.
But the Colts waited until roster cut-down day to place Ebukam on injured reserve. That allowed them to take advantage of a new NFL rule, which offers teams the opportunity to place two players on injured reserve when cutting rosters to 53 and designate them to return later that season. Previously, any player placed on injured reserve before the cut to 53 was out for the year; if a team wanted to place an injured player on IR and have them return that season, they had to be carried on the initial 53.
So the Colts designated two players to have an opportunity to return from injured reserve during the 2024 regular season or postseason: Ebukam and linebacker Cameron McGrone (elbow).
Achilles injuries are often season-ending, but if they're sustained early enough into training camp, the odds it ends a player's season are not 100 percent. Just close to it.
"It's a longshot, there's no doubt," Ballard said. "But if you're going to bet on somebody, you bet on Samson. It's a longshot, but you never know."
Ebukam led the Colts with 9.5 sacks in 2023, his first season with the team after signing as a free agent.
A tough break for Jelani Woods
While the Colts designated Ebukam and McGrone to return from injured reserve, that left tight end Jelani Woods – who sustained a significant toe injury in the Colts' second preseason game – to be placed on season-ending injured reserve. Ballard said there wasn't a chance Woods could return from his injury this season.
Woods' injury, unfortunately, put a spotlight on the brutal nature of the NFL. The 2022 third-round draft pick missed the entire 2023 season with hamstring issues, then worked his way back on to the field for training camp only to sustain an ultimately season-ending toe injury in mid-August.
Woods will get another chance to compete for a roster spot in 2025, but he'll face a tough task having not played in a regular season game since the end of the 2022 season.
"It sucks," Ballard said. "He's a really good kid, he worked his tail off, he was making big strides. Like a lot of times in life, you're defined by the things you gotta overcome, and he's just going to have to overcome it. It does make the evaluation tougher just because he's been hurt the last two years."
Why Colts continue to value Sam Ehlinger
The NFL this spring amended their emergency quarterback rule to allow teams to carry that player on their practice squads instead of the 53-man roster. Over the summer, though, the NFLPA rejected the rule, reverting it back to where it was in 2023. That meant any team that wanted to carry an emergency third quarterback on gamedays had to keep that player on their 53-man roster.
Rule change or not, though, there's a world where the Colts could've wound up keeping Ehlinger – who's entering his fourth year with the team – on their 53-man roster anyway. When Ballard was asked if he thought Ehlinger would've been claimed off waivers, which he would've had to pass through to be signed to the practice squad, he said "you never know, but I'm guessing yeah."
The Colts hold Ehlinger in high regard, having kept him around through a coaching staff change (he was drafted under Frank Reich) and as a third quarterback now for three consecutive years. Last year, Ehlinger became the Colts' backup when Anthony Richardson was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 5.
"I think with that position, it's such a critical position that the second you don't need a third quarterback, you need a third quarterback," Ballard said. "Sam's a good football player and he brings a lot not only as a player to this team, but to the room, the offense and to the team as a whole of who he is."
No timetable yet on Josh Downs' return
Ballard said he's "hopeful" Downs, who sustained an ankle injury during an Aug. 7 training camp practice, will be available for Sept. 8's season opener against the Houston Texans, but he wouldn't go so far as to guarantee the second-year wide receiver's availability.
"(He's) making progress, but not ready to stamp and say he's going to be ready Week 1," Ballard said.
Prior to his injury, Downs was having one of the best training camps of any Colts player. He broke Bill Brooks' long-standing franchise rookie receptions record with 68 catches in 2023.
