AUGUST 23: Woods underwent successful surgery on Friday, veteran insider Jordan Schultz reports. While that update is positive, he adds a four-month recovery timeline is in place. The Colts will therefore need to manage another lengthy absence on Woods’ part, although he could return at some point late in the 2024 campaign.
AUGUST 20: Drafted to play in Frank Reich‘s offense, Jelani Woods earned a regular role as a rookie. The former third-round pick’s career has drifted off track since, however, and another setback has since emerged.
Woods, who missed all of last season, is battling a toe injury. This will cost him regular-season time, according to ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder, and the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson tweets a surgery is on tap.
Colts HC Shane Steichen did not put a timetable on Woods’ return, but the third-year pass catcher appears to be drifting out of the picture for a team that has not enjoyed quality tight end production in many years. No Colts TE has eclipsed 450 yards in a season since Eric Ebron in 2018.
This toe issue comes after trouble with both hamstrings cost Woods his entire 2023 season. The Colts placed Woods on IR last year with the intention of activating him in-season, but an injury to his other hamstring nixed that plan. It again appears Woods will need a lengthy rehab timetable.
Chosen 73rd overall two years ago, Woods brought a 6-foot-7 frame to an offense in need at the position. He caught 25 passes for 312 yards an two touchdowns, working as an auxiliary cog during a rather chaotic Colts season. The team fired Reich midway through the 2022 slate, leaving Woods to learn a new system soon. Steichen has brought continuity, but the Colts have been unable to count on the former Virginia and Oklahoma State weapon.
Even as Steichen offered a turnaround, no Colts tight end topped 400 receiving yards in 2023. Kylen Granson, a 2021 fourth-rounder, led the way with 368 yards. Despite playing in 17 games, veteran Mo Alie-Cox totaled only 161. The Colts did not make a major move at tight end this offseason, though they still carry seven players at the position. Will Mallory, drafted in the fifth round under Steichen, remains rostered — as do Granson and Alie-Cox. Andrew Ogletree, a 2022 sixth-rounder, remains as well after a stay on the commissioner’s exempt list.
This seems like it will be a front-line Colts need come 2025, or perhaps the team looks to address the matter via trade or waiver claim soon. Woods can be placed on IR before Indianapolis sets its initial 53-man roster and still activated in-season, thanks to the NFL tweaking its IR rule this offseason. But the highest-drafted TE on Indy’s roster has lost all the momentum he carried to Indiana two years ago.
