Thursday Night Football tonight is a battle between two teams trying to find their way back to relevancy. The Indianapolis Colts will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. What does the Week 5 NFL inactives report look for tonight? What do each team’s final injury reports look like, and who might end up out for this showdown?
Note that we will update this article as teams announce their official inactives closer to game time, which will be around 6:45 p.m. ET.
NFL Inactives for Thursday Night Football
With each team permitted to have 48 players dress for a game (but often having 53 or more players available), teams must name any above that 48-person threshold as inactive. Which players will not be active for this Colts vs. Broncos matchup?
The below players were on the final injury reports with the listed designations. Ninety minutes before kickoff, the teams will officially announce their inactives.
Indianapolis Colts Inactives
S Julian Blackmon
QB Sam Ehlinger
C Wesley French
LB Shaquille Leonard
DE Tyquan Lewis
RB Jonathan Taylor
OT Luke Tenuta
Denver Broncos Inactives
LB Jonathon Cooper
S P.J. Locke
OG Quinn Meinerz
RB Latavius Murray
LB Aaron Patrick
CB Darius Phillips
WR Jalen Virgil
Impactful Names on NFL Injury Reports
Obviously, the marquee names on this week’s NFL inactives list were Javonte Williams and Jonathan Taylor. Technically, Williams went from the injury report directly onto IR, so he’s not included in this article.
However, his presence will be missed for a Denver team that is still trying to find its offensive identity. Now, Melvin Gordon III will get the chance to be the RB1, with Mike Boone lurking in the background ready to take the spot if needed.
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For the Colts, Taylor is dealing with a lower leg injury and was announced as out early yesterday afternoon. Nyheim Hines will take over as the starting back for Indianapolis. C Ryan Kelly and DT DeForest Buckner were both limited all week but were not included on the team’s final injury report.
Another name that was closely monitored all week was Broncos QB Russell Wilson. Coming off of his best statistical performance of the season, Wilson was nursing a shoulder injury during practice. However, he’s cleared to play for Thursday Night Football. It will be interesting to see how the potential lingering effects of the shoulder issue will impact his play in this one.