Colts Place Linebacker Pat Angerer on IR

The Indianapolis Colts may have already locked up the AFC South title and a spot in this year’s postseason, but they’ll have to continue their journey toward a championship without one of their defensive leaders.

According to ESPN.com, the Colts placed linebacker Pat Angerer on the injured reserve list this week, a decision that officially ends his season. Angerer was dealing with severe knee pain in recent weeks and reluctantly opted to undergo season-ending surgery under advisement from the organization.

After starting the first nine games of the season, Angerer played limited snaps in the next two games and didn’t appear at in last Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, due to the nagging knee injury. His production also seemed to be effected, as he recorded just 63 tackles this season, which is less than half of the tackles he racked up in 2011 (146) when he led the team.

Still, his presence in the lineup and his leadership on defense will be sorely missed for the rest of the season by the Colts, who have struggled at times on the defensive side of the ball – especially against the run, an area they currently rank 27th in, allowing 128.9 yards per game.

Kelvin Sheppard, who replaced Angerer last week, is expected to get another start in his spot in this weekend’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Colts will be one man down at the linebacker position for the remainder of the year, as they chose to fill their open roster spot by signing running back Shaun Draughn this week.

Slowing down the Chiefs – who have scored 101 total points in their past two games – will be an even bigger challenge for the Colts without Angerer. The Chiefs were going to be on the favorite line either way, but with this latest injury report in mind, we have to like the Chiefs just a little bit more.

Look for the Chiefs to cover -6.5 points this Sunday.