The Indianapolis Colts are designating center Ryan Kelly to return from injured reserve, announced head coach Shane Steichen on Wednesday.
Kelly was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury prior to the Colts’ Week 10 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
This was the anticipated move with Steichen mentioning before the bye week that there was a “good possibility” that Kelly could return to the practice field.
Once designated to return, there is a 21 day window for Kelly to be activated back to the 53-man roster, at which point a corresponding cut will have to be made to make room for him.
Kelly can be activated on Day 1 or Day 21, it’s just all dependent upon his health and availability. Once activated, he can play on Sundays.
Without Kelly, the Colts turned to rookie Tanor Bortolini from Weeks 10-13. Overall, this season, when called upon, Bortolini has held his own, allowing seven pressures and no sacks on the year, ranking 14th in pass-blocking efficiency among all centers. By PFF’s run-blocking grade, Bortolini ranks 19th.
However, Bortolini entered concussion protocol after the Detroit game and missed the most recent matchup with the Patriots.
Down both Kelly and Bortolini, the Colts turned to veteran Danny Pinter, who gave up only one pressure against New England and, along with Mark Glowinski at right guard, provided some stability in the run game.
Prior to being placed on injured reserve, Kelly had surrendered one sack and seven pressures. By PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric, he ranked 15th among centers going into Week 10 and was 26th in run-blocking grade.
At this point, we do not know if Kelly will be available against Denver, but awaiting the Colts’ offense is a stingy Broncos defense with a very good pass rush.
