Horseshoe Huddle

Colts, Panthers Announce Inactives Ahead of Sunday's Matchup

The Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers announced 12 inactive players ahead of Sunday's matchup.

Jake Arthur

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The Indianapolis Colts are on the road on Sunday as they take on Frank Reich and the Carolina Panthers.

Both teams will be without important players in the matchup, as the Colts are missing starters Zaire Franklin, JuJu Brents, and Braden Smith, and the Panthers are without Laviska Shenault and Vonn Bell.

For the Colts, Josh Downs (knee), Blake Freeland (back), and Rodney Thomas II (knee) were all questionable but are active. For the Panthers, D.J. Chark (elbow) and Donte Jackson (quadriceps) were questionable but also both active.

Here are both teams' lists of inactive players.

  • C Jack Anderson
  • CB JuJu Brents (quadricep)
  • LB Zaire Franklin (knee)
  • TE Will Mallory
  • OT Braden Smith (hip/wrist)
  • CB Ameer Speed

We'll see what the Colts elect to do at cornerback in Brents' absence. Tony Brown filled that role last week, but it went poorly. The Colts do have other options in Darrell Baker Jr. or Chris Lammons (practice squad call-up), or even shuffling the secondary by playing either safety Nick Cross or Julian Blackmon in the slot while making Kenny Moore II a primary outside corner.

At linebacker, Franklin will miss the first game of his career, which paves the way for Shaquille Leonard (among others) to see an expanded role, which he had recently lobbied for.

Kylen Granson's return from a concussion that kept him out for a couple of weeks led to Mallory being on the inactive list.

With Smith still out, expect to see the rookie Freeland in his right tackle spot once again.  

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  • S Vonn Bell (quadriceps)
  • G Nash Jensen
  • OT Ricky Lee
  • CB David Long Jr.
  • WR Laviska Shenault Jr. (ankle)
  • G Brett Toth

Bell and Shenault are the notable inactives here, as Bell brings a wealth of experience to the secondary and Shenault is a crafty offensive player. Edge defender (and former Colt) Justin Houston (hamstring) was also placed on Injured Reserve this week.

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Jake Arthur
JAKE ARTHUR

Jake Arthur has covered the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts for a decade. He is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) and FantasyPros' expert panel. He has also contributed to multiple NFL Draft guides.

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