The Washington Commanders were not having a good Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Colts had already brought down Marcus Mariota with a sack and knocked him out of the game with a right knee injury. And then Jaylin Lane was injured on a kick return for Washington.
Lane had to be carted off.
Jaylin Lane Injury Update
Lane was tackled on a kickoff return by the Colts’ Caden Curry.
It was the way Lane went to the ground that was painful.
His left foot appeared to turn at an unnatural angle.
The ESPN broadcast wouldn’t show anything other than the Sky Cam angle, suggesting that it looked particularly gruesome when shown with a closer view.
The Commanders were already without WR1 Terry McLaurin on Sunday due to injury that had him inactive. Losing Lane wouldn’t help their cause.
How Lane Injury Impacts Game
The reality is that Lane’s injury won’t impact the Commanders’ offense too much. He isn’t playing a lot in that role, even with McLaurin out.
The absence of Lane will impact special teams the most, and that’s certainly important in its own way.
It’s not clear how many more kick returns Washington will have on Sunday, though.
The Colts have scored three times up to that point — including two rushing TDs by Jonathan Taylor as well as a field goal.
The Commanders pulled within one score on the drive following Lane’s injury when Athan Kaliakmanis threw his first NFL touchdown to Treylon Burks.
There could be one more key kick return if Washington holds Indy to a field goal at some point and the Commanders want to set up good field position in a one-score game.
Washington is without a couple of their potential kick return options, though, which could come into play.
Rachaad White has spent time back there, as has Luke McCaffrey.
They could have to go with someone like Dyami Brown, or potentially a reserve RB like Kaytron Allen or Craig Reynolds.
Reynolds does have special teams experience in a variety of roles, so keep an eye on how Washington uses him the rest of Sunday against the Colts.
Jaylin Lane Injury Update Follows Awkward Foot Angle in Colts’ Caden Curry Tackle