Colts place Buckner back on IR with neck injury
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts placed Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back on injured reserve Friday, ending his season with two games still to play.
Coach Shane Steichen told reporters that Buckner aggravated the neck injury that forced him to miss five games earlier this season. He returned for Monday night's 48-27 loss to San Francisco, his former team. Buckner is expected to have surgery next week.
Steichen also ruled out starting center Tanor Bortolini (concussion protocol), receiver-return specialist Anthony Gould (foot), tight end Drew Ogletree (neck) and defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau (oblique) for Sunday's game against AFC South-leading Jacksonville (11-4).
It wasn't all bad news. Steichen is hopeful two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner could return Sunday after missing three straight games with a strained calf. Indy acquired Gardner from the New York Jets in a trade deadline move in which the Colts sent two first-round draft picks to New York and he played three games before getting hurt. Gardner finally returned to practice this week.
Still, Indy's playoff hopes have plummeted during a five-game losing streak and a stretch in which it has lost six of seven heading into Sunday.
The Colts (8-7) and Jags also will be watching Saturday's Texans-Chargers game closely because the Jags can clinch their first division title since 2022 with a win and a Texans loss. Indy, meanwhile, needs the Texans to lose to avoid elimination and Colts quarterback Philip Rivers, the 44-year-old grandfather, said Wednesday he'll be rooting hard for his former team, the Chargers.
Buckner's first stint on injured reserve came in November — just before the Colts flew to Berlin to face Atlanta. Buckner returned to practice in mid-December and was activated last weekend before the 49ers game. He had not practiced this week.
Buckner, a captain and one of the defense's strongest voices, was seventh on the team with 47 tackles, was second with nine tackles for loss and was tied for second with four sacks despite missing five games in his 10th pro season.
San Francisco drafted the former Oregon star with the seventh overall draft pick in 2016. He was traded to Indy in 2020.
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