Colts QB Carson Wentz suffered sprains in both ankles, status vs. Titans unclear

INDIANAPOLIS — Colts starting quarterback Carson Wentz suffered sprains in both ankles during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich said Monday.

Wentz sprained his left ankle early in the game and continued to play, then sprained his right ankle when it twisted underneath Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald in the fourth quarter and Wentz wasn’t able to return to the game.

The Colts starter underwent an MRI after Sunday’s game, but Indianapolis left Wentz’s status for the rest of the week up in the air.

“We’ll have to see,” Reich said. “Here, in a few minutes after this call, (I) have a medical meeting with Chris and the doctors, and we’ll talk through it together as a staff. … We’ll get more details from the docs, and we’ll map out a plan for this week.”

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If Wentz is unable to play in a monumental matchup against Tennessee on Sunday, the Colts will turn to backup quarterback Jacob Eason, who completed 2 of 5 passes in relief of Wentz on Sunday and threw a game-clinching interception to Jalen Ramsey on the second pass of his NFL debut.

“If Jacob has to play, then Jacob will be ready,” Reich said. “I think Jacob’s been doing a really good job. He’s been really dialed in.”

But all eyes will be on Wentz as the week progresses.

An NFL player can sometimes play with a sprained ankle. For example, in 2018, T.Y. Hilton played with two sprains, high and low, for more than a month as the Colts finished off their playoff run. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner suffered a badly sprained ankle in a Thursday practice last December, played against Houston three days later and played with it the rest of the season, although he spent most of the weeks leading up to each game trying to minimize swelling.

Peyton Manning suffered two sprained ankles in October of 2013 and did not miss a start while playing for the Denver Broncos.

“Sprained ankles, they’re degrees. They’re somewhere from one to 100,” Reich said. “I know this, Carson has a very high threshold of pain.”

The Colts quarterback has already returned on the early end of one injury this season. When a bone fragment was discovered in Wentz’s foot following the second day of training camp, the initial timetable for recovery was 5-12 weeks, and Wentz ended up coming back as early as possible.

“My history with Carson is that he’s a pretty fast healer and that he’s tough, and if there’s any chance that he can play with these ankle sprains, he’ll play,” Reich said. “Obviously, it’s an incredibly big game. We’re not holding back anything. This is a big game. If he can play, he’ll play.”

If Wentz can play, he likely won’t be as mobile as the player who has carried nine times for 60 yards in the Colts’ first two games and repeatedly made remarkable escapes to avoid the pass rush behind an offensive line that has allowed six sacks and 21 quarterback hits the first two weeks.

“I think it goes without saying, when you’ve got a guy who’s a pocket passer, it affects his game a little bit less than a guy who is a mobile quarterback,” Reich said. “I think that’s not rocket science. I think everybody understands that to be true.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carson Wentz injury: Colts QB suffered sprains in both ankles