T.Y. Hilton went down with a bruised knee for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. They ended up losing in embarrassing fashion, but it was unknown whether or not Hilton would play in Week 2 against the New York Jets. According to a report from Mike Chappell, the Colts are optimistic that Hilton will be on the field for them.
Pagano: A lot of optimism TY Hilton will play vs. Jets. Day to day with bruised knee
— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) September 17, 2015
During Week 1 action against the Bills, Hilton was one of the only consistent pieces for the Colts’ offense. He caught seven passes for 88 yards, but did not score a touchdown before going down with his knee injury.
At 25 years old, Hilton entered the prime of his career this season and signed a huge contract this past offseason with the Colts. They are hoping that he can explode into being one of the top receivers in the NFL, which he made a good start of doing last year. He still has some work to do in order to become the well-rounded receiver that they need him to be, but he looked very solid in Week 1.
Looking ahead to Week 2 against the Jets, the Colts are going to need every offensive weapon they can get. Andrew Luck needs as much as help as possible against a very tough New York defense.
Expect to see Hilton take the field against the Jets and be the Colts’ number one receiver. Knee bruises can definitely be painful and limit players, but Hilton will have had a full week to recover from the injury. He should be just fine and will be asked to be a major impact player for the Colts’ offense.
While it isn’t a “must win” this week for the Colts, they definitely need to get their confidence back with a big victory. Starting the season 0-2 would put them in a nasty early hole against an improved AFC and they can’t afford to do that.