AFC South Notes: Colts, Texans, Titans

Colts

Former Colts DE Dwight Freeney wasn’t as surprised as the rest of the football world was by QB Andrew Luck‘s shocking retirement this preseason. Freeney mentioned a conversation he had with Luck during training camp where the quarterback worried his calf injury was something more heinous. Luck made it clear his injuries didn’t have him in a good space mentally. 

“We talked and he was definitely down a little bit,” Freeney said via the Athletic’s Bob Kravitz. “He made a comment, ‘Is it just the calf or is it a calf and Achilles thing like the Kevin Durant situation where they all thought it was just a calf?’ And he’d been traumatized because of all the things he’d been through in recent years with injuries. That’s tough on that type of position because quarterbacks aren’t as used to that. As offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers, whatever, we get hurt all the time — I mean, all the time, in practice, in games, you name it. For us, it’s continuous maintenance so it’s part of our mentality growing up in the game.

“For the quarterback, it’s a little different. Yes, they get hurt, but it’s completely different from what we go through regularly. What Andrew was going through and how he felt like it changed him as a person, that’s the thing he had to figure out. If he was becoming miserable and wasn’t himself, if he didn’t like the person he was becoming, it’s the right decision. And he has every right to. I hear people get angry and I’m like, ‘Hey, it’s not your life.’”

• Per the Athletic’s Stephen Holder, Colts HC Frank Reich said QB Jacoby Brissett would practice on a limited basis Wednesday. 
• Colts WR Devin Funchess won’t practice and Reich says the Colts will probably wait another week to bring him back from injured reserve. (George Bremer)
• Colts WR T.Y. Hilton (calf) also won’t practice and Reich isn’t anticipating Hilton being available for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. (Kevin Bowen)
• Reich added he defers to Hilton more than he typically does to players when determining when he’ll be able to come back from injury. (Holder)
• The Colts are optimistic CB Pierre Desir will play this week after returning to practice. (Joel Erickson)

Texans

The bye this week comes at a much needed time for the Houston Texans. In addition to allowing QB Deshaun Watson more time to recover from getting kicked in the eye, it allows his best protector, LT Laremy Tunsil, time to recover from a shoulder injury. The Texans expect Tunsil to be on the field shielding Watson’s blind side when they come back from the week off. 

“I think Laremy is doing better,” Texans HC Bill O’Brien said via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson. “I think he tried to go, he wasn’t able to do it and I think that he made a decision in the best interest of the team. But I think the time off will help him, and I think he’ll be ready to go.”

Titans

• Jim Wyatt of the team’s official site writes the Titans are hopeful that C Ben Jones (concussion) will return for Week 10. 
• Wyatt says the “biggest question” coming out of Week 9’s loss to the Panthers is why the offense did not begin to utilize Titans RB Derrick Henry until the second half. 
• Titans HC Mike Vrabel pointed out that the offense got itself in unfavorable down-and-distance situations due to penalties in Week 9, which made it difficult to use Henry.
• On Wednesday, Vrabel said Jones remains in the concussion protocol. (Wyatt)