OL Danny Pinter breaks ankle - out for year

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

https://www.colts.com/news/shane-ste...ut-2023-season

Saturday afternoon, head coach Shane Steichen announced that backup offensive lineman Danny Pinter was going to miss the season after suffering a broken ankle.

"Danny is a really good player for us," Steichen said. "To lose a guy like him is very unfortunate for us. I hope he has a speedy recovery."

The injury occurred during the third quarter and led the former 2020 fifth-round pick to be taken off the field by a cart.

Throughout his career, Pinter has started seven games for the Colts, including three during the 2022 season.

Though Pinter had been largely playing with the second-team offensive line this preseason, he had shown off his versatility by playing both center and guard this offseason.

Though there is never a 'good' time for an injury to happen, the loss of Pinter adds a further level of complication with league-wide roster cuts taking place this Tuesday.

"Just looking at the back end of those guys [offensive linemen], we're working through that right now," Steichen said. "Wesley's [French] took some snaps there at center. There's a couple other guys we're looking at without naming a whole bunch of guys. There's gonna be some stiff competition there for those backup roles."

For the players vying for one of those spots, they will have one more chance this weekend to make an impression as the team returns to practice this Sunday.

"We'll have a good practice tomorrow before we make some decisions," Steichen said. "It'll be good to get another good day's work in."

[ChoppedWood]

That really sucks!

[JAFF]

Well, shit

[Oldcolt]

Depth was an issue before this

[omahacolt]

not much drop off to french. if at all.


although hopefully we have a different answer

[JAFF]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...n/70690921007/

INDIANAPOLIS — A Colts offensive line that was already thin behind the starting lineup has lost an experienced reserve.

Danny Pinter broke his ankle Thursday night against Philadelphia and he’s expected to miss the entire season, leaving Indianapolis particularly thin on the interior of the offensive line as the NFL’s annual roster cuts loom.

The Colts, along with every NFL team, must whittle the roster from 90 players to 53 by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

And the loss of Pinter means Indianapolis has a significant hole at the backup center position behind veteran Ryan Kelly, who has missed most of the past week with a foot injury.


“Danny’s a really good player for us,” Steichen said. “To lose a player like him is really unfortunate for us. I hope he has a speedy recovery.”

Preseason note:How a check and a throw to Granson shows Richardson's growth in the playbook

Pinter, the Ball State product Indianapolis drafted in the fifth round in 2020, has been Kelly’s primary backup for the past three seasons, starting four games at center and four games at guard in that time, playing 619 snaps.


His best play has come in relief of Kelly at center.

Without Pinter, who was carted off the field in Philadelphia after another player rolled up the offensive lineman’s left leg as he fell, it’s unclear who would move into the middle. Second-year backup Wesley French took over for Pinter in the game, and veteran backup Dakoda Shepley played center in Dallas last season, although he’s spent most of this training camp at guard.


“We’re working through all that right now,” Steichen said. “Wesley’s taken some snaps at center. There’s a couple of other guys we’re looking at. Without naming a whole bunch of guys, but there’s going to be some stiff competition for those backup roles.”

A few of the names the Colts are discussing likely do not play here. The Colts currently hold the fourth-highest priority for waiver claims, and hundreds of players will hit waivers in the next couple of days, opening the possibility that Indianapolis can find someone from other team’s cuts.


Indianapolis has a handful of other injury situations, including some that could complicate the team’s roster decisions.

The Colts placed linebacker E.J. Speed in concussion protocol after Thursday’s game, but two weeks remain before the start of the regular season, and Steichen said Saturday that he expects former All-Pro Shaquille Leonard to be cleared from the concussion protocol soon.

Rookie cornerback JuJu Brents, who missed the entire spring due to offseason wrist surgery and the first two weeks of training camp due to a hamstring injury, injured a hamstring again in the team’s joint practice against the Eagles.

And then there’s running back Jonathan Taylor, who has been granted permission to seek a trade but also remains on the active/physically unable to perform list. If Taylor’s not healthy or traded by Tuesday, Indianapolis could place him on the reserve/PUP to start the season, knocking him out for the first four games.

[IndyNorm]

That's a bummer. Was hoping he'd be back to his '21 form after moving back to OC. Guessing his days as a Colt might be over.

[CletusPyle]

God.....Bob is dead!

[Brylok]

Cut downs are coming. Sign three or so offensive lineman.

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by Brylok

Cut downs are coming. Sign three or so offensive lineman.

I know it was against backups, but the starting OL looked relatively good on Thursday night. Would be surprised to see O'Donnell unseat Fries at some point this season.