Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday had yet another head-scratching exchange with a reporter on Monday, this time in regard to an injury to starting quarterback Matt Ryan.
Speaking to reporters on the heels of a 54–19 blowout loss to the Cowboys—in which Indianapolis allowed 33 points in the fourth quarter—Saturday spoke about Ryan, who turned the ball over four times in the team’s third straight defeat. When asked if he thought Ryan’s shoulder injury from earlier in the season was affecting his play, the interim coach made a rather confusing admission.
“Um, I don’t think so,” Saturday responded. “That’d be a question you’d ask him, in all honesty. I don’t get into injuries with players. They tell me they’re good to go, I believe them and I’ve never questioned anybody. So I haven’t asked him if his shoulder is hurting him.
“I leave that to the trainers and to him. If he had something, he would tell me. But otherwise, I go as (if) everybody’s ready to rip and that’s the way I look at it.”
Ryan suffered a Grade 2 shoulder sprain earlier in the year that factored into former Colts coach Frank Reich’s decision to bench the veteran in favor of Sam Ehlinger ahead of a Week 8 game against the Commanders. However, Indianapolis lost its next two games with Ehlinger behind center and scored just a measly combined 19 points.
Reich was fired after a 26–3 loss to the Patriots in Week 9 and Saturday was brought in to be Indianapolis’ interim head coach.
Ryan was re-installed as the starter that same week and led the team to a win over the Raiders in Saturday’s coaching debut. However, the Colts have followed up the victory with three straight losses in which Ryan has thrown just three touchdowns compared to six giveaways.
Whether Ryan is 100% healthy is neither here nor there, but Saturday’s admission that he hasn’t even discussed the matter with his quarterback seems to warrant a further explanation from the interim coach.
