Will Colts CB Sauce Gardner (calf) play vs. Texans?

5 days ago 2

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts are not going to risk making Sauce Gardner’s calf injury worse in the season finale against Houston on Sunday.

Gardner left last week’s game against the Jaguars after feeling tightness in the calf that forced him to miss three games in a row, and Indianapolis took the veteran cornerback out as a precaution after he played 35 snaps against the Jaguars.

The Colts made a similar decision this week. Indianapolis is ruling out Gardner and tight end Will Mallory, who suffered an injury to his lung against Jacksonville.

Gardner, the prize pickup at the trade deadline who cost the Colts two first-round picks and second-year wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, ended up making only three starts and playing 196 snaps for Indianapolis after the trade.

But Gardner is also under contract with Indianapolis through 2030, and he could be a key defensive piece for the Colts moving forward.

“He’s a hell of a player,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “He’s sticky in coverage. He’s an elite corner that can win one-on-one matchups. Every time he was out there, he did a hell of a job, so really looking forward to his future in this organization.”

Steichen did not go into details on Mallory’s lung injury.

“It’s hard to explain, it’s just a lung issue down there,” Steichen said. “After the game, it popped up.”

Indianapolis will get back starting center Tanor Bortolini, who missed last week’s game due to a concussion.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner has also undergone surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck that was compressing a nerve, an injury that essentially cost Buckner the second half of the season, although he tried to return against San Francisco.

Buckner has been candid about the long-term implications of the neck injury, forcing him to handle the injury differently than others he’s faced in his career.

“I know that he’s going to have some recovery time,” Steichen said, “and then plan on him being back.”

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Sauce Gardner injury update: Colts CB out for season finale vs Texans

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