INDIANAPOLIS– Adonai Mitchell will have a chance to bounce back after last week’s trick play debacle in Denver.
Mitchell is in contention to start at Colts“X” receiver position with Alec Pierce ruled out due to brain injury. Pierce practiced Friday in a non-contact redshirt, but he was unable to take enough steps in the concussion protocol to be able to play this week and will now miss his first game since his rookie season.
THE Colts Also excluding linebacker EJ Speed, who missed the entire week of practice with a knee injury.
A full state of the game report will be available Friday afternoon.
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Adonai Mitchell will replace Alec Pierce in the Colts lineup
Mitchell is expected to step in as the starting “X” receiver in place of Pierce, although that could be a shared duty with Ashton Dulin, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
Mitchell is looking to bounce back from the double pass he threw last week into the arms of Broncos star Nik Bonitto, which Bonitto recovered for a touchdown to seal a 31-13 victory in Denver that now has the chances of the Colts in the playoffs on life support. It was the final moment of a rough rookie season in which the second-round pick out of Texas caught just 40.8 percent of his targets and has yet to find the end zone.
“My reaction is: I don’t think it’s going to be the defining play of his year,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said of Mitchell. “AD is a bright and promising young player. … The future is bright for AD.”
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With Speed out, the Colts will likely start Grant Stuard, who had 19 tackles in his place for a start against the Dolphins. Indianapolis is also expected to see the return of Missouri fifth-round rookie Jaylon Carlies, who was on injured reserve with fibula and shoulder injuries but is expected to play this week.
Zaire Franklin also missed Friday’s practice with an undisclosed injury.
The Colts look for a win against the Titans to improve to 7-8 and stay alive in the AFC wild card race. They’ll need to win the final three games to get to 9-8, then hope they can get some help from the AFC in order to sneak into the seventh playoff spot.
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Colts injury update: Adonai Mitchell could start with Alec Pierce out
