By: Tyler Ward
The Colts are losing more players by the day. It was announced Friday that Colts tight end Dallas Clark will miss the remainder of the season due to a wrist injury. He was placed on injured reserve early Friday and will be required to have wrist surgery. Clark does look to return next season for the Colts, but for now, he's done for the 2010 season.
Without Clark, the Colts are awfully thin at tight end. They have rookie Brody Eldridge, who may start for the Colts when they play the Texans on November 1. They also have Jacob Tamme and Justin Snow, who primarily play on special teams. Snow is the team's long snapper. The Colts actually did re-sign Gijon Robinson, too, but they honestly have no clear-cut starter.
Clark said in a statement Friday, "It's unfortunate, but it's been confirmed that surgery is necessary to repair the injury to my wrist. I have met with three great surgeons, Dr. (Arthur) Rettig of the Colts, Dr. (Thomas) Wiedrich in Chicago and Dr. (Thomas) Graham in Cleveland. All three have helped me and my family out tremendously during this process. I look forward to supporting my teammates the rest of this season and rehabilitating my wrist back to full strength for next season."Head coach Jim Caldwell also made a statement on the injury, going on to say, "Certainly, the guys that we have are the guys that will have to adjust and slide into position to make certain we can sort of fill in for Dallas, who's left a vacancy. He has assets that allow him to be flexible, to play multiple positions. He can play in-line. He can play obviously wide receiver. He can play in the slot. He's a pretty versatile performer."
Apparently, Clark injured his wrist against the Redskins on Sunday night. It is not known when Clark injured his wrist, but there was a point in the game when Clark clinched his wrist in pain.
The Colts are now a very injury-stricken team. They still have Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon, but Clark is now out for the year - Receiver Austin Collie was also required to have hand surgery and it is uncertain when he will return to the field. Fellow receiver Anthony Gonzalez is also recovering from a high ankle sprain. The NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reported that running back Joseph Addai could also miss several weeks due to a shoulder injury. If that's the case, it will give time for Donald Brown to get healthy since the team is on a bye week - Brown hasn't played since Week 3. To say the least, the Colts are one of the non-healthiest teams in the NFL and we could see them struggling. Luckily, they have Peyton Manning and with him on the field, there's always a chance to win. For now, Manning will have to deal with the loss of one of his favorite weapons.
Clark was drafted by the Colts with the 24th overall pick in the 2003 draft. He has developed greatly since coming into the league, accumulating 393 receptions for 4,525 yards and 44 touchdowns for his career. He is currently third on the Colts in terms of receptions (37) and receiving yards (347). Clark's best season came last year when he caught 100 passes for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns - he was also named to the Pro Bowl.
