The Colts will place defensive tackle Henry Anderson on injured reserve after he suffered a laryngeal fracture during Sunday’s game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Anderson will undergo surgery on Friday.
Anderson’s injury — a break in the neck region that not only sounds incredibly painful, but can cause life-threatening airway obstruction — will end the third-year interior defender’s 2017 campaign. While the severity of Anderson’s injury doesn’t sound as though it would have let him return this year, the NFL’s IR rules wouldn’t have allowed it, anyway. The league stipulates an eight-week absence before a player can come off IR, meaning Anderson would have missed regular season’s second half.
While the Indianapolis defense has been forgettable this season (bottom five unit in both DVOA and adjusted sack rate), Anderson has shined as one of the club’s few bright spots. While Anderson has been effective for the duration of his NFL tenure, he’s continued that production in 2017 while increasing his snap rate to 62.3%, 30% greater than his average heading into the season.
The results have been excellent, as Anderson ranks as a top-40 interior defender among 117 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, which gives the former draftnik favorite positive marks as both a run-defender and a pass rusher. He’s eligible for an extension this offseason, and will earn $720K this year before hitting the free agent market in 2019.