INDIANAPOLIS — Colts starting cornerback Charvarius Ward has cleared concussion protocol, according to coach Shane Steichen. Ward is expected to pair with Sauce Gardner against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid and future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce.
The Colts will still need to activate Ward, who was signed this offseason to a three-year deal worth as much as $60 million, before Sunday’s road game at Arrowhead Stadium, but there’s every indication Indianapolis will remove someone from the 53-man roster to make way for Ward’s first appearance since Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ward suffered his second concussion in just over a month — he missed Week 2 after feeling concussion symptoms in the days following the Colts’ Week 1 win over the Dolphins — during pregame warmups for the Oct. 12 matchup with the Cardinals when he collided with tightend Drew Ogletree while both were running on the field. The Colts put him on IR the following day, meaning he had to miss at least four games, with that fourth coming in the team’s trip to Berlin earlier this month to face the Falcons.
The All-Pro corner returned to practice Wednesday and has been a full participant all three days this week. His return will transform a secondary that had backups — or worse — starting and playing significant snap counts just a month ago.
“I think any time you have an elite player back in the fold, you can be multiple with those guys,” Steichen said. “We’ll have different things (to do with them) each and every week, depending on who we’re playing, and we’ll go from there.
“It’s really going to help. It’s great when you get an elite player back in the corner spot, and with Sauce out there, it’s big for our defense this week.”
When asked if he’d ever been around a cornerback duo with this level of talent and credentials, Steichen’s answer was simple: “I don’t think I have.”
Steichen delivers other Colts’ injury updates against Kansas City
Steichen said the Colts would not be ruling any players out for Sunday’s game in Kansas City. Quarterback Daniel Jones, who was deemed limited in Thursday’s practice with what initially was believed to be a calf injury, but was later deemed to be a fibula injury, was a full particpant in Friday’s practice, Steichen said, and there’s no concern of Jones missing the game. The Colts have no plan to elevate practice squad QB Brett Rypien to the gameday roster, Steichen said.
When asked whether the fibula injury would require maintenance moving forward, Steichen said he wasn’t sure. “We’ll see, he’s ready to go,” Steichen said. “(Jones) was rolling. He was good today. Yesterday, he just felt some discomfort and took a few reps off and went back and was reevaluated.”
The Colts head coach said the team would not plan to activate linebacker Jaylon Carlies ahead of Kansas City after he returned to practice Wednesday. Carlies missed the start of the season with an ankle injury that required surgery. Steichen also noted that Anthony Richardson‘s continued rehab for his fractured, surgically repaired orbital bone largely revolves around “resting his eye.”
When asked about All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner‘s continued healing for a neck injury that placed him on IR against the game against the Falcons, Steichen said he’s “very, very” optimistic at the prospect of Buckner returning. With Buckner out until at least mid-December, the Colts could potentially get a pair of rotational defensive ends Samson Ebukam and Tyquan Lewis back as soon as Sunday against the Chiefs. Both have missed the Colts’ last three games, Ebukam with a knee injury and Lewis with a groin injury. Ebukam was limited in both the team’s first two practices this week, and Lewis managed to practice in a limited form on Thursday.
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: Charvarius Ward injury update: When will Colts CB return from concussion?
