Colts’ DeForest Buckner ‘pretty banged up’ with knee injury

Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner had a scary moment during Sunday’s 38-31 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he was on the ground with a knee injury.

The injury kept Buckner out for the final few minutes of the first half before he returned to play through the injury during the second half of the game. Even so, the All-Pro defensive tackle is considered day-to-day with the knee injury.

Buckner will be on the injury report this week and there’s a chance he doesn’t practice until Friday—or even at all. There’s no guarantee he will play against the Houston Texans in Week 13 and with the bye looming in Week 14, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that Buckner sits to get an extra week of rest.

The Colts, of course, would prefer Buckner’s presence be on the field. That would be his preference, too. But the team also has to be smart. They have a lot of money invested in the three-technique and are looking to make a playoff run coming out of the bye week.

The defense has only been without Buckner for one game since he joined the team, and that wound up being a disaster. The Texans don’t pose as big of a threat but being without Buckner would still be a huge loss.

His participation will be monitored throughout the week, and his status for Week 13 is certainly up in the air.

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