Following Friday’s practice, Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Shane Steichen provided a brief update on linebacker Jaylon Carlies and defensive end Tyquan Lewis, both of whom are still on injured reserve.
According to Jake Arthur of Sports Illustrated’s Horseshoe Huddle, Steichen said that both Carlies and Lewis are progressing well, however, he also wasn’t going to put a timetable on the potential return for each player either.
Carlies was placed on injured reserve prior to the team’s Week 8 matchup with Houston. With players on IR having to miss at least four weeks, Carlies isn’t eligible to return until after the Jets’ game.
Prior to going on IR, Carlies was listed on the injury report as having a fibula injury, which he sustained in Week 7 against Miami.
For much of the season, Carlies was the Colts’ third linebacker when the team was lined up in their base 4-3 alignment. In the Miami game, without EJ Speed that week, Carlies also was the nickel backer next to Zaire Franklin.
Coming into that Week 7 game, Carlies was one of Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded rookies through six games.
Lewis, meanwhile, was placed on IR after the Colts’ Week 4 win over Pittsburgh. He would exit that game early with an elbow injury.
Lewis has been on IR for more than four weeks, so he is eligible to designated for return at any time. Through four games, Lewis’ 12 pressures were the most on the team at that time, and he still ranks third among all defensive tackles in PFF’s run-stop rate metric.
When the time comes that either Lewis or Carlies are able to practice, the Colts will designate them to return, opening a 21 day window for them to be added back to the 53-man roster. Whether it be Day 1 or Day 21, a player coming off of IR can be activated at any time once the return window is opened.
