The Colts will place safety Clayton Geathers on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, meaning he will miss the first six games of the 2017 season, as general manager Chris Ballard announced Monday.
Geathers, 25, suffered a season-ending neck injury in December, and subsequently underwent surgery on a bulging disc in March. Last season, Geathers started nine games before being sidelined, managing 58 tackles and five passes defensed while grading as the league’s No. 26 safety, per Pro Football Focus. He’s under contract through the 2018 campaign.
“A lot of this with Geathers is just the healing process,” Ballard said. “He’s in a good frame mentally. He’s worked hard and he’s done everything from a rehab standpoint. I think once we get into September and October it’ll really start ramping up for him.”
As Roster Resource indicates, second-year safety T.J. Green will likely step into the starting lineup in place of Geathers, lining up opposite rookie first-rounder Malik Hooker. Green started four games last year, seeing action on 44% of Indianapolis’ defensive snaps.