AFC Notes: Colts, Texans, Titans

Colts

Colts K Rodrigo Blankenship was going through pre-game warmups like usual when he all of a sudden felt a stabbing pain in his hip. The mysterious issue ended up wreaking havoc on Indianapolis all night in their collapse to the Ravens on Monday night, as Blankenship missed an extra point and a field goal, plus had another kick blocked, due to his limitations. 

“Every time I’d cock my leg back to swing and initiate my swing coming down, it was just a really, really sharp and intense stabbing pain in my hip,” he said via the Athletic’s Stephen Holder, adding later, “I could feel it as soon as I started my backswing and as I initiated my swing forward as well. Pretty much throughout the duration of the kick, I was feeling pain.”

• Colts HC Frank Reich said WR T.Y. Hilton is “close” to returning to practice. (Zak Keefer)
• He also mentioned the expectation is still for second-round DL Dayo Odeyingbo to play this year. The rookie is eligible to come off the PUP list in Week 7 and is rehabbing an Achilles injury. 

Texans

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Texans got trade interest on S Lonnie Johnson before Week 1 but decided to hold on to him. 
• Fowler adds the Texans have three safeties in Johnson, Eric Murray and Justin Reid. So far they’ve been able to keep all three involved, but Reid is in a contract year and Murray has a salary they probably wouldn’t be averse to dumping if they could find a taker. 
• Fowler notes Texans DE Charles Omenihu was a scratch in Week 5 as Houston opted for a longer look at veteran DE Jordan Jenkins. Omenihu would garner trade interest if available. 

Titans

Workload is a hot topic for the Titans and RB Derrick Henry, as the tractor trailer-sized back led the league with 397 touches in 2020 and is on pace to blow that number away in 2021. He’s on pace for 530 touches, which feels like a huge ask on the part of the Titans even if Henry has more in common with a Decepticon than your average NFL running back. 

“Derrick understands what his responsibility is to this football team and how to prepare,” Titans HC Mike Vrabel said via Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press. “We just have to try to be as smart as we can with recovery and how it’s going in the game and how he feels. Then there’s a fine line there between knowing what he needs and the impact he has throughout the course of the game. You see how he ran in the fourth quarter.”

• Titans WR coach Rob Moore said they had WR A.J. Brown on a snap count this past week: “He loves football. A lot of times we have to guard him vs. himself but he knows it’s a process.” (Turron Davenport)
• Titans OL coach Keith Carter said the team is close to finding a place for second-round OL Dillon Radunz to play on the line. (Davenport)