Colts WR Josh Downs suffered a high-ankle sprain in Wednesday's practice, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "The outlook right now is that Downs could miss about a month, but the Colts are sorting that out," Fowler adds.
We'd put one month on the short end of Downs' timeline for return. High-ankle sprains typically cost skill-position players 4-6 weeks.
We're 4.5 weeks from the Colts' season opener, so Downs is in danger of missing the first game or two of the season. There's risk beyond that, too, as high-ankle sprains often sap explosion well beyond those initial 4-6 weeks.
We've knocked one game off Downs' 2024 projection for now, bumping him down a few spots in the WR rankings.
Downs was having an excellent camp and was slated to open the season as Indianapolis' No. 2 WR. There's now an opportunity for Alec Pierce or Adonai Mitchell to snatch that job, at least to open the season. Pierce is reportedly still ahead of Mitchell on the depth chart, but the rookie has been mixing in plenty with the first-team offense. Mitchell is the more exciting fantasy pick here.
Downs' absence could also just mean a target-share boost for WR Michael Pittman.
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