The Indianapolis Colts have listed five players as inactive ahead of their primetime matchup on Sunday night with the Minnesota Vikings.
QB Sam Ehlinger
OT Bernhard Raimann
DE Adam Gotsis
DE Genard Avery
WR Anthony Gould
On game days, teams are only permitted to have 48 players active, so with Colts not making any practice squad elevations on Saturday, five players have to be inactive for Sunday’s game.
Raimann was ruled out on Friday after entering concussion protocol following the Houston game when he experienced symptoms. Raimann did not practice at all during the week.
In his place at left tackle will presumably be rookie Matt Goncalves, making his first NFL start. He and the rest of the Colts’ offensive line will be tasked with taking on a blitz-heavy Vikings’ defense that leads the NFL in pressure rate.
With Raimann not playing, Danny Pinter is active for the first time in a few weeks to bolster the offensive line depth.
Also of note, Kwity Paye, who was listed as questionable will play. Despite missing two games this season, Paye is third on the team in pressures and his impact isn’t always going to show up on the stat sheet with his ability as a run defender and to do the dirty work as an edge setter.
The remaining inactives are all to be expected. As long as both Joe Flacco and Anthony Richardson are available, Ehlinger will be inactive on Sundays, but is still available as the emergency quarterback.
Instead of Gould, the Colts have been opting to have additional tight end depth. Given that the Colts don’t use many four receiver sets, Mallory can provide more flexibility in terms of how he’s used.
With Paye playing and the Colts having six defensive ends on the 53-man roster, them making two inactive has been the norm recently when healthy.
Avery has been a healthy scratch for much of the season, and this week, the Colts are opting to have Isaiah Land available instead of Gotsis. This season, Gotsis has averaged 14 snaps per game. In the few brief snaps we’ve seen from Land, he’s shown some upside as a pass rusher.
