Jack Doyle - Pro Football Rumors

Colts’ Jack Doyle Retires

March 7th, 2022 at 2:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

After it came out that he was contemplating retirement, Colts tight end Jack Doyle has indeed decided to call it a career. In a statement, he explained the decision and expressed gratitude for the organization and its fans (Twitter link).

“Getting the chance to play nine seasons for the team I have always and will always cheer for has been a dream come true” he wrote. “I now go back to being the fan I have always been and retiring from the great game of football… I have a deep respect for the dedication and commitment it takes to be out there for your teammates. At this time, my body is telling me that is a sacrifice I can no longer make”.

After going undrafted out of Western Kentucky in 2013, the 31-year-old played 131 games for the Colts. His most productive campaign came in 2017, where he made 80 catches for 690 yards and four touchdowns. That earned him the first of two trips to the Pro Bowl. Over his career, though, he became most well-known for his ability as a blocker.

This past season, Doyle played a key role in the Colts’ dominant rushing attack. PFF ranked him amongst the best tight ends at run-blocking, proving he was still a valuable member of the offense. On a team that was already in need of more pass-catchers, his absence will be felt.

This news could lead to T.Y. Hilton following Doyle into retirement. The franchise icon indicated he was contemplating ending his career in conjunction with Doyle, which would leave another hole in the team’s offense. From a financial perspective, Doyle coming off the books will save Indy just under $5.5MM, leaving them with a comfortable $42MM in cap room for the upcoming free agent market.

T.Y. Hilton Wants To Continue Playing

March 2nd, 2022 at 9:06am CST by Zachary Links

Despite the speculation, T.Y. Hilton isn’t thinking about retirement. In recent weeks, the veteran wide receiver informed the Colts that he wants to continue playing, according to GM Chris Ballard.

“T.Y. can still play,” Ballard said (via Nate Atkins of the Indianapolis Star). “One, he’s about as smart as any player I’ve ever been around. He just knows how to play the game. Even though his skillset isn’t the same as it was three or four years ago, his instincts and his level of understand what’s happening…he knows how to play.”

Hilton is coming off of a forgettable year, one that saw the Colts’ aerial game nosedive in the second half of the season. Injuries limited the four-time Pro Bowler to just 23 catches, 331 yards, and three touchdowns — all career lows. That’s a far cry from his best work, and it’s worth noting that the 32-year-old hasn’t posted a 1,000-yard season since 2018.

Now at the age of 32, Hilton is scheduled to hit the open market later this month. It’s not a given that he’ll stay in Indy, especially if teammate and friend Jack Doyle calls it quits.

“I’m just gonna take some time and talk to Jack and just go through it,” Hilton said in January when asked about the possibility of retirement. “If I want to play one more year, I could play one more year. If not, then I won’t. So [I’ll] just talk to [Doyle], see how he’s feeling and once he makes his decision, I’ll kind of know what I want to do kind of based on him.”

T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle Weighing Retirement

January 12th, 2022 at 5:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Barely 300 receiving yards from 10,000, T.Y. Hilton is not certain to play next season. The longtime Colts wideout is considering walking away after 10 years.

So is Jack Doyle, who has been in Indianapolis for nine seasons. Interestingly, the two plan to discuss their respective plans before making their own decisions. The veteran tight end is signed through 2022; Hilton is set for free agency again.

“I’m just gonna take some time and talk to Jack and just go through it,” Hilton said, via George Bremer of the Herald Bulletin. “If I want to play one more year, I could play one more year. If not, then I won’t. So [I’ll] just talk to him, see how he’s feeling and once he makes his decision, I’ll kind of know what I want to do kind of based on him.

“Whether it’s here or whether it’s somewhere else, I’ll make my decision some time in the offseason.”

Hilton, 32, received strong interest from the Ravens in 2021 but opted to take a slightly lesser offer — one year, $8MM — to come back to the Colts. This is also not the first time Hilton considered walking away. The neck injury he suffered last summer, the latest in a recent run of injuries, sidelined him for the season’s first five weeks. During that time, he contemplated leaving the game.

The former third-round pick returned to action in October, and although his numbers were way down (23 catches, 331 yards, three touchdowns — all career-lows), the longest-tenured Colt still played a key role. While Hilton is 309 yards away from 10,000 — a club currently housing 50 players — the four-time Pro Bowler is behind only Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne in Colts history. The Colts have moved to Michael Pittman Jr. as their top wideout. Regardless of Hilton’s plans, his age, Zach Pascal‘s UFA status and Parris Campbell‘s health history certainly makes wide receiver a need for the Colts this offseason.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Doyle played 58% of the Colts’ offensive snaps this season. Pro Football Focus did not observe a decline in Doyle’s blocking, slotting him as a top-five run-blocker at his position. That obviously proved key for the run-focused Colts, who unleashed Jonathan Taylor to the point he finished with a 552-yard lead for the rushing title. Doyle, 31, is set to make $4.7MM in base salary next season.

Injury Updates: McCaffrey, Minshew, Biadasz

November 9th, 2020 at 2:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Christian McCaffrey finally made his highly anticipated return from his ankle injury yesterday against the Chiefs, but unfortunately the Panthers superstar picked up another minor ailment toward the end of the game. McCaffrey hurt his shoulder on the final drive of the game, and head coach Matt Rhule is labeling him day to day moving forward. But McCaffrey is apparently in a great deal of pain and his status for this Sunday’s game against the Bucs is “very much in doubt,” reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter video link). It doesn’t sound like anything long-term, but this could once again become Mike Davis‘ backfield, at least for this weekend.

Here are more health updates from around the league:

The Jaguars nearly picked up an upset win over the Texans in Jake Luton‘s NFL debut, and he’ll get another crack at it in Week 10. Head coach Doug Marrone told the media that Gardner Minshew is unlikely to be available this weekend due to his thumb injury, and that Luton will likely start once again. Luton had a pretty impressive debut for a sixth-round rookie, passing for 304 yards and a touchdown with an interception while coming very close to leading a comeback. It’s no guarantee Minshew gets his job back even when he’s healthy.
Speaking of the Jaguars, they at least did get some good news back on rookie receiver Laviska Shenault. Shenault left yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury and was ruled out, but Rapoport tweets that he received good news from his MRI, and a source told him Shenault has a good chance to play this week against the Packers. The 42nd overall pick of April’s draft has been a consistent contributor, with at least three catches in every game that he’s finished.
The Cowboys on the other hand weren’t quite as fortunate. Rookie center Tyler Biadasz hurt his hamstring during pregame warmups, and EVP Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan this morning that he’ll be out 2-3 weeks with the injury. It’s another brutal blow to a Dallas offensive line that has been decimated by injuries. The fourth-round pick from Wisconsin had been the Cowboys’ center for the past 5.5 games. Joe Looney started the first few games, and he’ll now get his starting job back for the time being.
Colts tight end Jack Doyle is in the concussion protocol and likely won’t be able to be cleared in time for Indy’s Thursday Night Football AFC South showdown with the Titans, head coach Frank Reich announced Monday. Doyle had touchdowns in back to back weeks before going down on Sunday, and his absence will limit Indy’s ability to run the multi-tight end sets they like so much with Mo Alie-Cox and Trey Burton.

Colts, Jack Doyle Agree On Extension

December 6th, 2019 at 8:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thrust back into the role of the Colts’ top tight end, Jack Doyle now has another long-term contract. The Colts and Doyle agreed on a three-year extension Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The deal is worth $21.3MM in new money and could spike to $29.1MM through incentives, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. This marks another nice payday for the career-long Colt who now has a bigger role since the team placed Eric Ebron on IR. This marks a second Colts re-up for the Indianapolis native; Doyle’s three-year, $18.9MM deal was set to expire at season’s end.

While the pay bump is not much compared to what Doyle’s previous number was, it keeps the 29-year-old weapon tied to the Colts through the 2022 season. Considering Ebron may be set to walk in free agency, after a strange end to his season, the Colts did not waste much time in ensuring some continuity at tight end.

A former UDFA out of Western Kentucky arrived in Indianapolis in 2013, during the three-year stretch of Andrew Luck-led playoff berths, but played behind Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen for three seasons. Doyle emerged in his contract year, 2016, with a 584-yard, five-touchdown performance and made the 2017 Pro Bowl with a career-best 690 yards.

After Doyle suffered a season-ending injury in 2018, Ebron broke Dallas Clark‘s Colts record for touchdowns by a tight end. But Ebron did not come especially close to matching that production this year. Doyle is again the Colts’ top tight end target and will be pivotal to the fringe AFC contender’s playoff chances.

Latest On Colts TE Jack Doyle

July 8th, 2019 at 10:04am CST by Ben Levine

Jack Doyle had a breakout season in 2017, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. Unfortunately, the Colts tight end couldn’t build off that campaign, as he struggled with injuries throughout 2018.

After appearing in the first two games of the season, Doyle missed the next five with a hip injury. The tight end made it back to the field for four games in October and November, but his season came to an end after he suffered a lacerated kidney. The 29-year-old ultimately finished the year having hauled in 26 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

While Doyle was capable of running routes during the Colts offseason camp, he cautioned that he’s not targeting any specific return date.

“I really am trying to take it one day at a time, not rushing anything,” Doyle told Heather Bremer of The Herald Bulletin. “But I’m happy with where I’m at and happy with the progress I’ve made. It’s definitely going in the right direction, and when it’s time to get back out there, I’ll be excited to be back out there. I promise you that.”

While Doyle may not be ready for the start of training camp, that won’t stop offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni from gushing about the depth at tight end. Doyle will be joining Eric Ebron, who finished last season with a career-high 13 touchdowns. The team is also rostering Mo Alie-Cox, who showed some flashes last year.

“It’s exciting to know that he is making a full recovery from his hip, from his kidney and we are going to have the Jack Doyle that we had at the start last year,” Sirianni said.

Colts Rumors: Doyle, Geathers, Brissett

February 27th, 2019 at 6:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts will likely be without tight end Jack Doyle for the bulk of the offseason, GM Chris Ballard told reporters on Wednesday. Doyle, of course, missed significant time in the 2018 season thanks to a hip injury and finished out the year on IR thanks to a kidney injury that required surgery.

In six games last year, Doyle caught 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Eric Ebron picked up the slack with 66 grabs for 750 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Colts hope to have both players in the mix in two tight end sets, but if Doyle misses time, they have a deep TE unit to draw from including the recently re-signed Ross Travis and former basketball player Mo Alie-Cox.

Here’s more from Indy:

The Colts want to re-sign safety Clayton Geathers, GM Chris Ballard says (Twitter link via Mike Chappell of FOX 59). Geathers, 27 in June, amassed 89 tackles and three passes defensed as the Colts’ starting strong safety. However, he missed four games and earned a so-so 67.4 score from Pro Football Focus, positioning him as just the 51st best overall safety in the NFL.
Geathers, cornerback Pierre Desir, and wide receiver Dontrelle Inman will be allowed to test the market in March, even though there is interest in bringing each player back, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) hears. Holder adds that safety Matthias Farley will likely be tendered and should return to the squad in 2019.
The Colts are still exploring backup quarterbacks and those conversations almost led them to signing Calgary Stampeders QB Bo Levi Mitchell recently, Holder hears (Twitter link). Still, Holder does not expect those conversations to have any direct impact on Jacoby Brissett‘s status for the coming year. The Colts say they’re not shopping Brissett, but if they do, they should find a decent market for his services.

Colts To Place Jack Doyle On IR

November 26th, 2018 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The surging Colts are likely to see a key cog in their offense head to injured reserve. Jack Doyle suffered an injury Sunday that will send him to IR, Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports (subscription required).

It’s a kidney injury, Frank Reich said (via Mike Chappell of Fox 59). Reich said Doyle was hospitalized because of this ailment and underwent a procedure.

Teaming with touchdown maven Eric Ebron, Doyle caught one of Andrew Luck‘s TD passes Sunday — Indianapolis’ fifth straight win — but appears set to see his season end early. Doyle missed five games earlier this season because of a hip injury but had returned to play in the Colts’ past three contests.

Indianapolis was down to just Ebron and Doyle on Sunday, with Erik Swoope, Mo Alie-Cox and Ryan Hewitt out. The Colts are likely to consider adding a reinforcement at this position, Holder notes.

Colts tight ends have caught 18 of Luck’s 32 touchdown passes this season. Though Ebron’s 11 TD grabs comprise much of that total, Doyle scored twice in limited action.

Swoope and Alie-Cox’s five combined scores make them potentially promising fill-ins, but their injuries complicate matters. An 80-reception, 690-yard season sent Doyle to the Pro Bowl last year. He’s signed through 2019 but has no guaranteed money remaining on a three-year, $18.9MM deal.

Injury Updates: Patriots, Colts, Lions, Redskins

October 19th, 2018 at 9:36pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The final injury reports for Week 7 came out earlier today, and there was a lot of news. Lots of key players will be missing their team’s games, while others will be returning after extended absence. One notable rule-out was the Patriots declaring that starting right tackle Marcus Cannon would miss their game against the Bears. It’s a big loss for New England, especially in a week where they have to go up against Khalil Mack. Mack will now be lining up across from a backup tackle, and could end up making life miserable for Tom Brady.

Here are more injury updates from around the league:

The Colts have been the most injured team in recent memory the past few weeks, but are finally getting some good news. Star receiver T.Y. Hilton has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, but is ready to make his return this week. Unfortunately for Indianapolis, they’ll still be without tight end Jack Doyle and receiver Ryan Grant as well as several key contributors on defense like safety Clayton Geathers and defensive tackle Denico Autry.
The Lions will be without running back Theo Riddick, who went down during the team’s win over the Packers. Riddick has been operating as the Lions’ third down back, and rookie Kerryon Johnson should get more run with him out of the way. On the bright side, the team looks like it could be getting back pass-rusher Ezekiel Ansah, who hasn’t played since Detroit’s Week 1 loss. Ansah is listed as questionable but practiced all three days this week.
The Redskins will be thin on pass-catchers, as Jamison Crowder has been ruled out for the team’s game against the Cowboys while Paul Richardson is listed as doubtful. Washington promoted Jehu Chesson from the practice squad yesterday, signaling they weren’t expecting Richardson to play. Tight end Jordan Reed should see a ton of looks as the Redskins’ receiving corp is completely depleted.

For a rundown of every team’s injury situation, you can view all 32 injury reports over at ProFootballTalk.com.

Injury Notes: Titans, Mariota, Falcons, McKinley, Colts, Doyle, Eagles, Ajayi

September 21st, 2018 at 9:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Marcus Mariota‘s injury remains a mystery. It hasn’t been disclosed exactly what he’s dealing with although it has reportedly caused him to lose some feeling in his hand. Blaine Gabbert started, and won, for the Titans last week, and it’s possible he’s asked to do so again this week against the Jaguars.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel told reporters that he would make the decision between Gabbert and Mariota within the next “24 hours” and that he would let them know then according to Jim Wyatt of the Titans’ official website (Twitter link). If Mariota can’t go it would be a huge blow for Tennessee against the league’s top defense. One thing that could make their matchup a bit easier is that Jalen Ramsey was added to the injury report Friday with an ankle injury, although it’s unclear if he’s in any danger of missing the game.

Here’s more injury updates from around the league:

The Falcons just can’t seem to catch a break. It was already known they’d be without Devonta Freeman and several other starters, but it was announced today that they’d also be without talented pass-rusher Takkarist McKinley. McKinley is currently dealing with a groin injury.
The Colts will be quite shorthanded for their trip to Philadelphia as the team ruled out tight end Jack Doyle, running back Marlon Mack, defensive tackle Denico Autry, and right tackle Anthony Castonzo. Doyle’s injury is a big blow, as he formed an effective tight end duo with Eric Ebron through the first two games.
The Eagles will also be significantly shorthanded on offense, with their backfield being particularly banged up. Running backs Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles have been ruled out, while Corey Clement is questionable. If Clement isn’t able to go, the running back situation would be dire. Alshon Jeffery is questionable, but reporters have written that he’s very unlikely to play.