11:08am: The Colts have freed up a pair of spots on their 53-man roster as they enter their bye week. The team announced today that it has placed Anderson on the injured reserve list and waived cornerback Tony Carter.
10:36am: The Colts notched their biggest and best win of the season on Sunday, knocking off the undefeated Broncos to move ahead of the Texans for first place in the AFC South. However, that victory appears to have come at a cost.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), after conducting initial tests, the Colts believe that promising rookie defensive end Henry Anderson tore his ACL. An MRI is still forthcoming, but it’s expected to confirm the diagnosis feared by the team.
Anderson, 24, was selected by the Colts with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the draft back in May. Immediately slotted into the club’s starting lineup, Anderson has been one of the pleasant surprises of this year’s rookie class, totaling 31 tackles, a sack, and a pair of passes defended in his first nine games in the NFL.
Assuming the MRI confirms that Anderson has a torn ACL, he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the season, prompting the Colts to turn to potential fill-ins like T.Y. McGill, Zach Kerr, and Billy Winn. Indianapolis would also likely add another defensive lineman to the roster, since moving Anderson to IR would leave the team with just five healthy players on the line.