Colts’ WR Parris Campbell to Miss Time with “Significant” Foot Injury

The third-year wide receiver is expected to miss quite a bit of time after suffering a serious injury once again. (Video via Indianapolis Colts YouTube)

Heartbreaking.

That’s how Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich described it when announcing wide receiver Parris Campbell had suffered a “significant” foot injury in the Colts 31-3 victory over the Houston Texans.

The injury happened on the 51-yard touchdown catch by Campbell from quarterback Carson Wentz in the first quarter on Sunday. It was only the second touchdown of Campbell’s career and comes at a major cost.

“It is a significant injury,” Reich explained on Monday. “He’s going to miss some time. It’s just heartbreaking for him, for us. I just feel like he was hitting a groove and hate it for him, but know he’s the kind of person and player, that he’ll bounce back. It’s just an unfortunate break and we’ll see here as we go how long of a period of time we’re talking about, but it’s going to be a little bit.”

Campbell has appeared in five games this season, tallying 10 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. It looked like Campbell was becoming more involved in the offense each week, and the Colts were starting to use his strengths to exploit weaknesses in opposing defenses.

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

This marks the third straight year that Campbell has suffered a serious injury. As a rookie, he battled through an abdomen injury, fractured hand, and broken foot that ultimately ended his season. In 2020, Campbell suffered a sprained MCL and PCL in Week 2 that ended his season.

It’s hard to find a player that has had worse luck in the injury department than Campbell. It can be very taxing on a young player to go through so many serious injuries in consecutive seasons.

“You’ve got to believe. You’ve got to believe that you were destined to do this,” Reich told Campbell after the injury diagnosis. “Parris is a man of strong faith, so he’s got to maintain that aspect of his life and trust that the plan for his life is – even though these are real struggles that are very painful, that you have to find the silver linings. You have to keep believing that you’re going to be an impact player in this league. Don’t lose vision for that. Do not lose vision for that.”

He continued, “I love this guy. This is a special person. He’ll have all the support he needs and I know he has the internal fortitude to kind of bounce back from this.”

As far as how long Campbell will be sidelined, Reich did not give a concrete timeline as it is still too early to tell. However, he did not rule out the possibility of this being season-ending for the young wide receiver.

With Campbell to miss significant time, who will take his spot within the wide receiver rotation? Look for guys like Ashton Dulin, DeMichael Harris, and even Keke Coutee to possibly have an extended role in Campbell’s absence. Dezmon Patmon, who is currently on injured reserve with a foot injury, is also an option once he returns.

At the start of the season, the main question surrounding Campbell was if he could stay healthy. Unfortunately, it looks like we got our answer, and it was not the one we were hoping for.

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