New York Jets See Weakness in Key Indianapolis Colts Position Group

The New York Jets have an area they can potentially exploit as they make final preparations for the Indianapolis Colts.

Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann (79) slaps hands pregame, Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Robert Scheer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Indianapolis Colts declared offensive lineman Bernhard Raimann out for Sunday’s game with the New York Jets due to a knee injury.

Ordinarily that doesn’t cause much of a ripple effect. But, when the Colts (4-6) face the Jets (3-7) missing Raimann could be a big deal.

Per Mike Chappell of CBS 4 in Indianapolis, putting Raimann on the shelf means the Colts will do something they haven’t done in nearly a decade — start three rookie offensive linemen.

The Colts are expected to start center Tanor Bortolini, left tackle Matt Goncalves and right guard Dalton Tucker in the game.

The last time Indianapolis started three rookies up front was in Week 4 of the 2016 season when it went to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Back then, it was center Ryan Kelly, right guard Austin Blythe and right tackle Joe Haeg.

This has two significant implications for the Colts. First, they’re going back to second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson for the game after benching him in favor of Joe Flacco two games ago.  

The second is on running back Jonathan Taylor, who enters the game hoping to exploit a Jets run defense that has been among the worst in the NFL this season.

Raimann, who is 27 years old and a native of Austria, played his college football at Central Michigan and was the Colts’ third-round pick in 2022. He was a second-team All-American in 2021. He’s played 39 NFL games and started 34 of them.

The Jets have their own issues on the offensive line. They will be without left tackle Tyron Smith, who is dealing with a neck injury that he suffered last Sunday.

Rookie and first-round pick Olu Fashanu is expected to make his first start at left tackle in Smith’s place.

The rest of the starting offensive line is set to start, though New York will be without a key depth piece as guard Jake Hanson will miss another game. Linebacker C.J. Mosley is also out with a neck injury.

New York will get safety Chuck Clark back, as he is expected to be activated for the game. He has been on injured reserve and has missed the last four games with a high ankle sprain.

New York has two players designated as questionable — wide receiver Davante Adams (wrist/illness) and defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (knee).

The Jets have several other players on the report without an injury designation, including cornerback Brandin Echols (concussion), cornerback Michael Carter II (back), offensive lineman Morgan Moses (knee), cornerback D.J. Reed (hip), linebacker Chazz Surratt (heel), offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (hamstring/knee).