INDIANAPOLIS —The Indianapolis Colts today announced that safety Mailk Hooker has been downgraded from questionable to out for Sunday's Week 11 AFC South Division showdown against the Tennessee Titans.
Hooker has been dealing with a hip issue since the Colts' Week 7 victory over the Buffalo Bills, and has been listed on the team's injury report since.
The injury caused Hooker to miss the next week's game against the Oakland Raiders heading into the bye week, although he was able to return last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, recording four tackles and recovering a late fumble to seal a divisional victory.
Hooker was a non-participant in all three Colts practices this week as the team prepared for the Titans, however, and he was originally listed as questionable for the game on Friday before being downgraded to out today.
Colts head coach Frank Reich said Friday "it's never ideal" to have a player miss an entire week of practice, but said if there's a chance someone can be game ready by Sunday, "you do what you have to do."
"You assess those on a week by week, person by person deal," Reich said when asked about Hooker's situation. "I mean, sometimes you can get away with it, but obviously it's not the ideal situation."
The Colts (4-5), winners of three straight, have now officially ruled out four players for Sunday's game: tight end Ryan Hewitt (ankle), Hooker (hip), cornerback D.J. Killings (ankle) and tight end Erik Swoope (knee). Cornerback Nate Hairston (ankle) remains questionable.
The Titans (5-4), meanwhile, have one player, running back David Fluellen (knee), ruled out, while three other players — wide receiver Tajae Sharpe (ankle), guard Quinton Spain (ankle) and wide receiver Taywan Taylor (foot) — are questionable.
