Will EJ Speed be able to take the field on Sunday down when the Colts host the Dolphins?
While Indianapolis Colts linebacker EJ Speed is by no means a household name, his play in the opening six weeks of the 2024 NFL season was that of someone who should be. Speed is presently the league leader in solo tackles (44), and earlier this season, he tied an NFL record set by Zach Thomas when he notched at least ten tackles in an eighth consecutive game dating back to last year. With the chance to break that record in Week 5 against the Jaguars, Speed came up three tackles short in the 37-34 loss.
Unfortunately, EJ Speed popped up on the Colts injury report earlier in the week, casting some doubt as to whether the league's leading tackler would be able to add to his total in Week 7. Speed looked to be trending in the right direction throughout the week. He missed practice on Wednesday, was a limited participant on Thursday, and participated without any limitations on Friday.
However, on Saturday afternoon the Indianapolis Colts announced that Speed had been downgraded from questionable to doubtful for their game on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
The Colts have been hit hard by injuries thus far this season, having already lost second-year starting quarterback Anthony Richardson and former All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor for multiple games. Taylor will miss his third game of the season on Sunday, but the Colts will get a boost with the return of Richardson, who has missed the previous two games due to a hip injury suffered early in a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4.
Fortunately for the Colts, the Miami Dolphins offense is not the high-powered juggernaut it was expected to be heading into the season. Thanks in large part to a Tua Tagovailoa concussion that has kept the fifth-year quarterback out of action since Week 2, the Dolphins are currently 23rd in yards per game and dead last in scoring.
