Indianapolis Colts lose star defenseman to injury, but not all hope is lost

The Indianapolis Colts have started training camp, which means the NFL season is right around the corner. Fans are getting their first look at this year’s team and the new additions. Of course, fan reactions to the players’ work in camp are always rational, and there was some big news out of the horseshoe camp today.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind, as it is reported that their starting defensive end Samson Ebukam tore his Achilles tendon on Sunday and will be out for the season. This is a major blow to the Colts’ defensive front. Last season was the best of his career.

It’s no surprise that Ebukam led the team in sacks last season, as he was a relentless rusher off the edge. He finished second to DeForest Buckner in QB hits on the team.

• 21 pressures, 8 QB knockdowns, 3 hurries

It was reasonable to expect him to do so again this coming season, even with the draft of Laiatu Latu. Ebukam was graded as PFF’s 14th-best edge and had ESPN’s 16th-best pass rush win rate (19%) and third-best run stop win rate (35%) among all edges. This is why GM Chris Ballard traded for Ebukam, as he is effective against both the run and the pass.

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Evaluating the Indianapolis Colts’ Pass Rush Without Samson Ebukam

If there’s one glimmer of good news, it’s that the Indianapolis Colts were deep at defensive end. They still are, but now Ebukam’s production and snaps will be split between Tyquan Lewis and Dayo Odeyingbo. There’s a chance, on clear passing downs, that Latu, the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, could step into Ebukam’s spot. Before training camp, the idea was that Latu would take the spot of former first-round pick Kwity Paye.

Paye and Odeyingbo combined for 16.5 sacks last season. The loss of Ebukam, however, gives Latu a better chance to show why the Colts selected him. Currently in training camp, he is operating with the second-string defense. Either he or someone else will move to the first-string defense. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley will undoubtedly use the remaining days and weeks of training camp to figure out who his new starting four down linemen will be.

The Colts do have some available cap space, and while many fans would like to see the team use some or all of that money on a veteran safety, they may now use some on Ebukam’s replacement. The list of available and productive players isn’t long, but it does include a number of former horseshoe players, Yannick Ngakoue, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Justin Houston and Henry Anderson.

This injury is not the start to the season that the Colts or their fans wanted. The good news is that it is still early in the year, so the team has a better chance to adjust to this loss. At this time, there is no scheduled date for Ebukam’s surgery. All anyone can do is ask for a good recovery for him and that this injury doesn’t take away too much of what makes him special.

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