Colts Fear P Rigoberto Sanchez Lost for the Season

The Colts' punter suffered a serious lower leg injury at the end of Tuesday’s practice.

The Indianapolis Colts have been pretty fortunate throughout training camp as far as serious injuries are concerned.

Besides linebacker Shaquille Leonard, all Colts players have practiced at least once in training camp. As of Tuesday morning, the only player to have suffered a season-ending injury was rookie tight end Drew Ogletree, who tore his ACL last week in practice.

Unfortunately, another Colt may be joining Ogletree.

According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez suffered what is thought to be a torn Achilles. The injury happened at the end of practice Tuesday when the team was running gassers – or sprints – to end the day. Further testing will confirm the severity of the injury, but the Colts are preparing for the worst.

#Colts P Rigoberto Sanchez suffered what’s believed to be a torn Achilles in practice today, sources say. Further testing to come but the team is bracing for bad news here.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 23, 2022

Sanchez took over the job as the Colts’ punter back in 2017 after long-time punter Pat McAfee retired. In 2021, Sanchez had 59 punts for 2,627 yards (44.5 avg.), including a franchise-record 79-yard punt against the San Francisco 49ers. The punter also handles kickoff duties for the Colts, kicking off 89 times for 5,687 yards and 44 touchbacks.

Sanchez has become a weapon for the Colts over the years. As a directional punter, Sanchez kicks the ball high and towards the sidelines in an effort to limit the options returners have. His kicking has helped the Colts become one of the best special teams units in the NFL over the last few years.

Losing Sanchez for the season would be a huge loss for the Colts. The Colts would be losing one of the better punters in football, the man that handles kickoff duties, and the player who holds on field goal and extra point attempts for kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. While losing a punter does not seem like a big loss on the surface, Sanchez plays a vital role in the Colts’ special teams’ success.

The Colts have had to deal with the loss of Sanchez before. In 2020, Sanchez missed two games following surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his body. However, he returned and finished the rest of the season, showing no signs of hindrance from the surgery.

So, if further testing does reveal Sanchez is done for the season, who will the Colts turn to? Currently, there are no other punters on the Colts roster, and the team will need to sign a free agent.

A name to keep an eye on is former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Haack. Haack spent the 2021 season in Buffalo where he had 52 punts for 2,230 yards (42.9 avg.). Before that, Haack was the punter for the Miami Dolphins for four seasons. Haack was cut by the Bills this week after Matt Araiza – known as the ‘Punt God’ – beat him for the job.

© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Haack has experience punting in the NFL and is a directional punter similar to Sanchez. He also has experience holding for field goals, something he has done at his two previous stops. Haack has traditionally not kicked off in his career, so that role may be taken over by Blankenship if Haack is signed.

Some other free agent punters that could be options are Michael Palardy and Ty Long. Palardy was with the Dolphins in 2021, punting 78 times for 3,489 yards (44.7 avg.) Long was the punter for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2019-2021, with 46 punts for 2,091 yards (45.5 avg.) last season. Long also kicked off for the Chargers in 2019 and 2020.

Losing Sanchez for the season is a huge blow to the Colts’ special teams unit. It will be hard for the team to replace what he brings to all phases of the group.

Have thoughts on the injury to Rigoberto Sanchez? Let us know in the comments below!

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