Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon was active for the first time in Week 6 since suffering an ankle injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3.
While Blackmon was active after being listed as questionable and practicing at least in a limited capacity all week, the Colts held the third-year safety off the field. Only he and quarterback Sam Ehlinger were the only active players to not take a snap.
Head coach Frank Reich told the media Monday that Blackmon would play in an emergency situation only.
“Yeah, he practiced last week a fair amount, enough to show us that hey, if he needed to play – late in the week, he didn’t make the progress physically to really get to the point where there was any kind of decision that needed to be made,” Reich said. “We were like, ‘Are you good if you had to play?’ Yeah, he was good if he had to play, but really would’ve preferred waiting another week. So, we were able to get that.”
Blackmon is a key piece of the secondary and was playing well before the injury. But the Colts also have gotten some solid play from rookie safety Rodney Thomas II, a seventh-round pick out of Yale.
Being able to keep Blackmon off of the ankle when he’s not 100% ready was a luxury for the Colts, and now he has a chance to make his return for another divisional matchup when the team visits the Tennessee Titans in Week 7.
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