Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor rushed 16 times for 76 yards (4.8 per carry) in Sunday's loss to the Commanders. He left briefly with an ankle tweak but returned. RB Nyheim Hines carried 5 times for 20 yards and the team's lone TD. He added 2 catches for 29 yards. Deon Jackson took the remaining RB carry for a loss of 4. Next up: a Week 9 visit to New England. A road game at the Raiders follows.

Colts QB Sam Ehlinger threw for 201 yards in his 1st NFL start Sunday against the Commanders and ran for 15 yards on 6 attempts. He took 2 sacks and lost a fumble, but it doesn't sound like he did anything to jeopardize his role. "I thought he threw the ball well, I thought he looked poised, made good decisions, gave us a chance," HC Frank Reich told reporters afterward, according to The AP. "We'll look at the film more closely, but my first impression was that he played well." Ehlinger targeted WR Michael Pittman with 39% of his pass attempts (9 of 23). WR Alec Pierce finished 2nd with 5 targets. WR Parris Campbell garnered just 2 looks. Ehlinger shouldn't be in your fantasy football plans for a Week 9 visit to New England.

Colts CB Kenny Moore (finger) is active for today's game against the Commanders.

Colts CB Kenny Moore is questionable for Sunday's game against the Commanders after being added to Friday's injury report with a finger issue. We'll check his status Sunday. The team ruled EDGE Kwity Paye (ankle) out for the game.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard will play Sunday against the Commanders, though he's not yet going full time. "He’s ahead of schedule, but not quite there yet so he will be on a pitch count," HC Frank Reich told the Indianapolis Star. "We feel he is the best defensive player in the league. Our goal is to get him out there for 100 percent of the snaps as soon as we can, but we’re just not quite there yet." Leonard is coming off surgery for a broken nose, as well as a concussion. That followed a slow start to the year coming off June back surgery. It's tough to know just how many snaps Leonard will play, but we've boosted Zaire Franklin to full playing time and moved him way up the Week 8 IDP rankings. He played 100% in the 1 game that has included Leonard so far this year (Week 4).

Colts QB Matt Ryan (shoulder) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Commanders. HC Frank Reich said earlier this week that the team planned on turning to QB Sam Ehlinger regardless of Ryan’s health. QB Nick Foles will be the backup this weekend.

Colts LB Shaquille Leonard practiced in full Wednesday and was listed only for the back issue, which was the June surgery whose recovery kept him out to open the season. It's good news that the team isn't listing his broken nose that required more recent surgery. Leonard's inactivity in the wake of that kept HC Frank Reich from playing him in last week's loss at Tennessee, despite full practices leading up to the weekend. Leonard seems to be on track to return for this Sunday's game against Washington. That would likely take playing time away from IDP revelation Zaire Franklin. We'll watch for word on whether Leonard will immediately assume a full-time role.

Colts HC Frank Reich announced Monday that he'll start QB Sam Ehlinger next Sunday against Washington. It makes sense that Indy would want a change from Matt Ryan's poor play. It's surprising, however, that they're already turning from a high-priced veteran acquired just last offseason to a 6th-round pick from last year who has yet to throw a regular-season pass. Ryan is dealing with a shoulder strain, but Reich says, "Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Ehlinger did go 24-of-29 passing this preseason for 289 yards (9.97 yards per attempt) and 4 TDs (13.8% rate). Ehlinger will make his starting debut against a Washington defense that has been 7th most friendly to QB scoring this season. We'll see how this goes.

Update: Ian Rapoport reports that it's a Grade 2 shoulder separation for Ryan. Reich, however, announced the plan as a replacement going forward rather than a fill-in assignment.

Despite throwing 44 passes and completing 75% of them, Colts QB Matt Ryan amassed just 243 yards and 1 TD in Sunday's loss to the Titans. He added a pair of INTs and took 3 sacks. It marked the 5th time Ryan has logged 2+ turnovers in 7 games this season. Next comes a matchup with Washington, which entered Week 7 as the 7th friendliest matchup for QB scoring (just 2 spots higher than Tennessee). Then comes a New England defense that has been more challenging for QBs.

Colts WR Parris Campbell led the team with 12 targets, 10 receptions and 70 receiving yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans, adding Indy's only offensive TD. It marked his 2nd straight game of double-digit targets, though high volume for QB Matt Ryan has certainly helped. Campbell garnered 27.3% of Ryan's pass attempts Sunday and 22.5% over the past 2 games combined. He'll be worth a look in WR3 territory for the Week 8 home date with Washington. Michael Pittman checked in 2nd among Colts WRs against Tennessee, with a 6-58 receiving line on 9 targets. Rookie Alec Pierce collected just 3 catches for 37 yards on 4 targets. The team's TEs combined for just 2 catches and 10 yards on 3 targets.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor carried just 10 times for 58 yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans, his return from a 2-game absence for an ankle sprain. Taylor added 7 catches for 27 yards on 8 targets, ranking 3rd on the team in that category. He ran just 3 more pass routes than Nyheim Hines for the game, according to Pro Football Focus, a significant change from Taylor's last time out. In that loss to Tennessee, Taylor ran 29 routes to Hines' 11. Hines added 5 receptions for 41 yards on 5 targets in Sunday's game and contributed just 2 rushing yards on 4 carries. Deon Jackson got 2 carries for 3 yards. Indy gets a challenging rushing matchup with Washington in Week 8 and then visits New England in Week 9.

The Colts have ruled LB Shaquille Leonard (nose) and EDGE Kwity Paye (ankle) out for Sunday's game against the Titans. Leonard finished the week with 2 full practices, making him seem close to a return. So he likely needs more time to heal from the surgery for his broken nose. Paye has yet to practice since suffering his high-ankle sprain in Week 5.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is not listed on the final injury report. He practiced all week, including full workouts on Thursday and Friday. HC Frank Reich confirmed on Friday that Taylor will resume handling the bulk of the backfield work vs. the Titans this weekend. RBs Nyheim Hines (concussion) and Deon Jackson (quad) are also off the final injury report but aren’t viable fantasy plays.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) was upgraded to full participation in Thursday's practice. He's set to return for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) remained limited on Wednesday. He got in limited practices last Thursday and Friday but missed the Jaguars game. We're guessing Taylor returns for this weekend's game vs. the Titans, but he's certainly not a lock. We'll get another update tomorrow. RBs Nyheim Hines (concussion) and Deon Jackson (quad) put in full practices on Wednesday and should be available this weekend.

Colts RB Deon Jackson was knocked out of Sunday's win over the Jaguars with a quad injury. He racked up 42 yards and a score on the ground plus 10 catches for 79 yards before exiting. Jackson's absence left Phillip Lindsay as Indianapolis' top RB. We'll see if Jackson, Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines are available for Week 7

Bills RB Zack Moss is a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Chiefs. That leaves just Devin Singletary and James Cook in Buffalo's backfield. We'll see if the Bills load up Singletary as an every-down back or work Cooks in some more. We'd bet on the former.

Colts S Julian Blackmon (ankle) is active for today's game against the Jaguars.

The Colts have downgraded RBs Jonathan Taylor (ankle) and Nyheim Hines (concussion) to out for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. That leaves Deon Jackson as the anticipated starter. He obviously lands in a good situation for touch upside. Jacksonville does rank 9th in Football Outsiders' run-defense DVOA and 7th in overall defensive DVOA, though. So it's not a terrific matchup. Consider Jackson to be a fantasy option if you're in need rather than a player to specifically target.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars. He got in limited practices on Thursday and Friday. HC Frank Reich said Friday morning that Taylor "has a chance to play" on Sunday. We should get an update on his status that morning and will get Indianapolis' inactives around 11:30 am ET.