The Indianapolis Colts left Green Bay with another loss to open the season but they also saw one of their star defenders go down with an injury. Defensive lineman DeForest Buckner suffered an ankle injury in the game and his status for Week 3 remains up in the air.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and NFL Network reported the news on social media. Rapoport wrote:
"#Colts DL DeForest Buckner, one of the NFL's most durable players, suffered an ankle sprain that is expected to make him a long-shot for next week against the #Bears, sources say. X-Rays were negative, MRI is coming. The belief is the sprain is not a severe one."
Bucker went into the game against the Packers as questionable but was deemed well enough to play. He put up one tackle and zero sacks in the loss to Green Bay.
If Buckner does have to miss any time, the Colts will need to rely on star Kwity Paye and others to step up. It hasn't been a great start to the year for Indianapolis as they have started 0-2.
They will be hosting the Bears in Week 3, a matchup that could be favorable with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams being under center for Chicago. The hope is that Buckner can play but it could be in their best interest to hold him out.
The Colts don't want this injury to get any worse or linger throughout the season. He has been one of the more productive members of their defensive unit over the years so his absence could be massive.
Buckner has recorded eight sacks in each of the last two seasons for the Colts and he put up 81 total tackles a year ago. His ability to get into the backfield and disrupt an offense is impressive and he has become a favorite in Indianapolis.
Without Buckner, the Colts' run defense could get even worse. In Week 1, they allowed 159 yards to Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon. They followed up that poor performance by giving up 151 yards on the ground to Packers running back Josh Jacobs.
Going up against Chicago, the Colts will need to make sure that they can limit the rushing attack. Chicago has struggled to run the ball so far this season, putting up 84 yards on the ground in Week 1 and 71 in Week 2.
This could be a chance for the Colts to find some footing as they look to get their first win of the year, with or without Bucker on the field.
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