The Indianapolis Colts were one game away from making the playoffs last season and are expecting quarterback Anthony Richardson to be healthy to lead the team in the 2024 season. However, one of their defenders will miss the entire 2024 NFL season.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting that Indianapolis Colts defensive end Samson Ebukam suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice on Sunday and that his season is over before any games begin. Ebukam was entering his second season with the team after starting all 17 games last year as he finished with a pass deflection, three forced fumbles and a career-high 9.5 sacks.
It will be interesting to see how the defensive gameplan changes with the news of Ebukam’s injury. Will the Indianapolis Colts just look to add with teams cutting players or will they be active in free agency/trades to find another defender to replace his production?
What should the Indianapolis Colts do now?
The Indianapolis Colts are going to have to figure out their next move after losing Samson Ebukam for the entire 2024 season. He was expected to be coming off the end of the defensive line opposite of Kwity Paye to get some pressure on the opposing quarterback.
If they were to look at trading for a defensive end, the Colts do have all seven of their 2025 picks so that could be in play. According to Over The Cap, they still have a little less than $26 million in cap space so they can be aggressive. Currently, the top defensive end free agents are Carl Lawson and Yannick Ngakoue so there is a fix if the team decides to look at free agency.
The Colts’ first-round pick in the 2024 draft was defensive end Laiatu Latu, so they can just decide to make him a starter on the defensive line and get a backup to help the team as the season goes along. It is going to be a tough decision for owner Jim Irsay and his staff to decide on what to do but it will be intriguing as this Colts team is in a position to win now and in a very difficult AFC South with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans also looking primed for a playoff spot.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.