Arthur Jones to have ankle surgery, could miss season

The Indianapolis Colts are one of the favorites to make a Super Bowl run in 2015. However, they have been dealt a tough blow with the news that defensive lineman Arthur Jones needs ankle surgery and will be out an undetermined amount of time, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.

The New York native was injured against the St. Louis Rams in Indianapolis’ third preseason game. Jones has torn ligaments in his left ankle and it has not yet been determined whether or not he can return. It seems being placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list would be the best-case scenario, which would put him out six weeks. If Jones is placed on the Injured Reserve – Designated to Return list, he would sit out the first 10 weeks. The worst case scenario would be Jones missing the entire season, being placed on Injured Reserve.

Jones was signed away from the Baltimore Ravens last year and was expected to help solidify the run defense. Jones played in only nine games and made 23 tackles with 1.5 sacks, failing to make the impact that general manager Ryan Grigson was looking for. With Jones on the shelf, the Colts must turn to Zack Kerr, Henry Anderson and Kendall Langford to pick up the slack. In his rookie season of 2014, Kerr flashed with 16 tackles and three sacks.

Indianapolis has some injuries to contend with in the front seven. Outside linebacker Robert Mathis is also out while he continues to recover from a torn Achilles. The 34-year-old is not expected to return until October, when he can team with free-agent signing Trent Cole.

Luckily for the Colts, they have perhaps the most prolific offense in the game with Andrew Luck running the show. Luck has a pair of new weapons at his disposal as well in Andre Johnson and Frank Gore.