Colts rule safety Julian Blackmon out vs. Packers

The Indianapolis Colts already thin secondary takes another hit with safety Julian Blackmon being ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

After playing every defensive snap on Sunday in the loss to Houston, Blackmon did not practice at all this week, dealing with a shoulder injury. According to the Indy Star’s Joel Erickson, it is the same shoulder that he injured last season but the Colts’ do not believe this injury will be long-term.

The Colts already find themselves shorthanded in the secondary, with cornerback JuJu Brents being placed on IR.

When it comes to replacing Blackmon, the Colts can either have Ronnie Harrison take over at strong safety in order to keep Nick Cross at free safety. Or Cross could move down to the box with Rodney Thomas taking over at deep safety.

The back end of the Colts defense surrendered an efficient performance to CJ Stroud last week, who completed 24-of-32 passes at 7.3 yards per attempt with two passing touchdowns and a passer rating of 115.9.

The secondary was the big unknown for the Colts entering the 2024 season. This was a unit that battled inconsistent play in 2023 and returned essentially the same cornerback and safety rooms this year.

Now the Colts will be without two of their starts, putting an already thin unit to the test.

The Colts are preparing for Malik Willis to start at quarterback for the Packers. Willis has only 67 career pass attempts, but has a litany of playmakers around him that will present a massive challenge for the Colts’ secondary.