Colts’ Gary Brackett injures hand in preseason game
The Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers played a very competitive preseason game, going all out and it showed in the injury report. On top of Colts’ running back Joseph Addai suffering a concussion, linebacker Gary Brackett injured his hand while making the tackle on Packers’ running back Ryan Grant.
Brackett went in for the hit when a teammate’s helmet came through and hit Brackett’s hand. Coach Jim Caldwell said he had no injury updates on his players. Brackett left the game in the first quarter and did not return. It would be bad news for the Colts if Brackett has a fracture. He’s their defensive captain and is coming off a 99 tackle season.
Phillip Wheeler, whose helmet hit Brackett’s hand, said he didn’t see where Brackett was on the play: "I didn't see him on that play, I just made the play. I didn't see Gary at all," Wheeler said.
Brackett was surrounded by team trainers after the hit and sat out the rest of the game with a towel wrapped around his hand. Brackett signed a five-year deal with the Colts worth $33 million this offseason, staying with the team he has spent his entire career with.
Losing Brackett for part of the regular season would be a huge blow to the Colts’ defence. Brackett makes the defensive calls and calls for adjustments. He is a great leader for the unit and losing him is big. The Colts usually have a knack for finding guys to fill in well but it’s never good to lose a star player and a leader when you’re the reigning AFC Champions.
The Colts’ last preseason game is next Thursday when they will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Their regular season kicks off on September 12th when they will travel to Houston for a tough divisional matchup against the Texans. Losing Brackett for that game is big when you look at the Texans high scoring offence and their deadly passing game.
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