The Indianapolis Colts’ suspect wide-receiver depth took a severe hit in the preseason opener.
Coach Frank Reich revealed that sixth-round draft pick Deon Cain is out for the season after tearing his ACL in the team’s 19-17 win over the Seahawks. Running backs Marlon Mack (hamstring) and Robert Turbin (ankle) are week-to-week, Reich added, after sustaining injuries of their own Thursday night.
“We know we’ve got something special in Deon Cain,” Reich said. “He’s a young guy who can develop into a great player. This is obviously something that will be a setback. But that’s not uncommon. Good players have a way of overcoming those obstacles. And we’re counting on Deon overcoming this one as well.”
Cain hauled in one pass for four yards in his NFL debut before the injury occurred.
“Uber-talented prospect,” scouting director Morocco Brown said of Cain after the draft. “It’s not necessarily where you get picked, it’s what you do when you get in here.”
To that end, the former Clemson star had been a standout in training camp on top of an eye-catching performance in offseason practices.
Cain received praise from multiple team sources as a “massive steal” late in the draft. The Indianapolis Star recently wrote that Cain has been “flat-out hard to ignore.”
Although T.Y. Hilton and Ryan Grant were holding steady as the top two receivers, Cain was making a strong case to nail down the No. 3 role as a playmaking deep threat.
“In this league, you gotta make chunk plays,” Reich raved early in camp. “He flashes, he’s got a little knack, he’s good against press coverage.”
Now that Cain has been struck down by the football gods, the Colts will have to turn back to third-year receiver Chester Rogers and a handful of unproven options such as fifth-round rookie Daurice Fountain. Alternatively, they could join the Browns in pursuit of former Cowboys standout Dez Bryant.
