LaRon Landry cleared to practice
Indianapolis Colts strong safety LaRon Landry (30) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Colts won 23-7. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis Colts strong safety LaRon Landry has panned out decently as a free agent signing for the team, as he’s immediately been a key part of the Colts defense in his first season with the team. He’s largely bounced back after some struggles in coverage with the New York Jets last season, but he has still been inconsistent this season due to some lapses in coverage. Landry had a scorching start to his first season in Indy, but he’s definitely climbed back down to earth as the season has passed- he’s also dealt with some injury issues. He missed four games early in the season with an ankle injury, and he suffered a concussion in last week’s 45-44 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Landry, who may have concussed Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe in Week 16, suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter, and this caused his status for this week’s game against the New England Patriots to be in some doubt.
However, it looks like Landry will be able to play on Saturday, as the Terre Haute Tribune Star’s Tom James reports that the Colts have cleared their starting strong safety to practice today, but it still isn’t clear if Landry has been cleared to play. Since he’s practicing today, I would fully expect the Colts to clear him for game action against Tom Brady and the Patriots on Saturday, since it would make no sense for him to return to practice on Wednesday only to miss this week’s game.
Landry is an incredibly important player to the Colts, because he and Antoine Bethea form a solid, veteran tandem at safety. Without Landry, the Colts are forced to turn to former Patriot Sergio Brown at SS, and he’s definitely not someone who should be starting in a big game. It would be a shock for them to have to, though, since Landry seems like a “go”, and they will just need him to cut down on his missed tackles. He’s a solid player who has been crucial to the Colts coverage in the middle of the field this year (that’s a big key on Saturday against the Patriots), and he is one to watch for sure.