The Indianapolis Colts have placed safety Julian Blackmon on IR and signed safety Henry Black off the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad, per multiple reports.
Blackmon exited Indianapolis’ Week 16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons with a shoulder injury, and now the third-year safety is set to miss the rest of the 2023 regular season after being placed on injured reserve.
Although Blackmon’s regular season is over, if Indianapolis were to make the playoffs, there is a chance he could return, per James Boyd, a Colts writer for The Athletic.
This season, Blackmon has been a key component of the Colts’ successful defense, particularly when it comes to forcing mistakes. Blackmon has accumulated 65 solo tackles, 8 pass deflections, and 4 interceptions overall.
This offseason, the 25-year-old Blackmon is expected to become a free agent. The Colts secondary has already suffered a number of injuries this season, including the loss of starting cornerback Dallis Flowers to a ruptured Achilles early in Week 4 and the extended absence of rookie cornerback JuJu Brents due to a nagging quad issue. His injury adds to the list.
Indianapolis’ defense will undoubtedly feel the loss of Blackmon, and as the regular season comes to an end, one of the NFL’s youngest secondaries will get even younger.
The Colts’ final two regular-season games are at home against the Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders. If the team hopes to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, their secondary will need to perform well both times.
