AFC Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Texans, Titans

Colts

While Colts HC Frank Reich did say that QB Philip Rivers is getting better in regards to his toe/foot injury, the veteran still isn’t 100 percent. 

“I know he’s getting better,’’ Reich said of Rivers, via Mike Chappell of Fox59.com. “I didn’t feel hindered at all the way I called the game. Do I think he’s 100%? No, he’s not 100%. Do I think he’s physically in good enough condition to play winning football against the best teams in the league? I do. The goal is to get these games in without having a major setback, and to the best of my knowledge, we did not have any setbacks yesterday.’’

Reich added that they aren’t ready to place LT Anthony Castonzo on injured reserve.

“But we don’t know,’’ Reich said about being without Castonzo for three weeks. “He’s the type of player if you’re ever going to take a chance with at that position and because of who he is, let’s not lock ourselves in, in case he has a speedy recovery. We haven’t ruled anything out. We’ll get to Wednesday and access where he’s at and go from there.’’

• The Indianapolis Colts brought in three offensive tackles for tryouts on Sunday, according to Albert Breer. The full list of players who tried out included  Christian DiLauro, Antonio Garcia and Casey Tucker. 

Jaguars

Jaguars’ QB Gardner Minshew has begged HC Doug Marrone to play him after his thumb injury, yet Marrone has opted to stick with veteran play-caller Mike Glennon.

“It’s so frustrating,” Minshew said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “I pretty much went and begged before the Cleveland game to be able to play. It sucks, you know, There’s no way around it. I want to be out there. I want to be helping our team, but if helping our team is me being the best No. 2 I can be then that’s what I’ve got to do right now.”

Minshew isn’t sure what the future holds for himself and his teammates due to the fact that Jacksonville is currently 1-11.

“I don’t know,” Minshew said. “I mean, I don’t know if anybody has a long-term future right now just being the nature of being 1-11, so there’s really no telling how things’ll shake out. I can just control what I can, and we’ll go from there.”

Marrone has stayed in communication with Minshew but wants to see more out of him before replacing Glennon, who Marrone thinks gives Jacksonville the best chance of winning on Sundays.

“We talked today and just like I’ve told him, I just want to see more practice,” Marrone said. “I think he’s working on his volume and the amount of throws and all of that. Obviously, he’s cleared medically, but still, you want to be able to see those things on the practice field. I just think right now in practice Mike is throwing better and gives us the best chance to win. I don’t think Gardner’s 100% as far as his workload, and that’s always a concern to me, and I’m trying to understand it. We’re both trying to work through it. We’ve been having a lot of conversations, so it’s not a problem at all. Whatever he feels he can do what’s best for the team, he’ll do. He’s said that quite a bit. I don’t see a problem there. The communication’s been fine. I think everything’s been upfront. I think everything’s been talked about. So I feel comfortable with that. I think he’s trying to do everything he can to get himself back to a point where he feels comfortable and his workload is right.”

Minshew said he initially thought he just bruised his thumb and that it was getting better, which is why he didn’t tell the training staff. 

“Obviously, in hindsight, if I would have known it was hurt like that, I would have said something,” Minshew said via Jacksonville.com’s John Reid. “I thought it was just kind of a bruise that was slowly getting better. Obviously, there was no intention of hiding anything. I just always been if I could play, I could play. That’s kind of how I was brought up.”

Texans

• Per Fox 26’s Mark Berman, Texans owner Cal McNair informed season ticket holders in a letter that in addition to a search firm he will be relying on a group of advisors that include former coaches Tony Dungy and Jimmy Johnson, former Texans WR Andre Johnson, San Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford and Fritz Pollard Alliance head Rod Graves.

Titans

Characterizing Titans first-round OT Isaiah Wilson‘s rookie season as a disaster would be harsh, but fair. Wilson has played just four snaps all season despite Tennessee losing two starters at left tackle due to injury. He’s been on the COVID-19 list twice, has more DUI arrests (1) than starts (zero) and was suspended this past week for a violation of team rules. However, Titans HC Mike Vrabel said the team hasn’t given up on Wilson growing into the key contributor they thought they were getting when they drafted him. 

“We’re gonna continue to work and support Isaiah. That’s our job,” Vrabel said via Drake Hills of the Tennessean. “And we’ve brought him into this family. We have expectations for everybody that’s associated with it, and we’ll continue to coach him, to teach him, support him, but hold him to a standard that we hold everybody else to.”

• Titans’ DE Teair Tart is planning to appeal his one-game suspension which he received from the league for stepping on Browns’ RG Wyatt Teller. (Terry McCormick)