Sauce Gardner sounded calmer than the injury report.
On Wednesday, the Colts cornerback said the calf issue that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to the Tennessee Titans “isn’t as bad as the one that sidelined him for most of the Colts’ final six games in the 2025 season.” He also said the injury was “much more minor than last year.”
But when the Colts released their Week 7 availability update, the official answer was different: Gardner is out. So is tight end Tyler Warren. So is wide receiver Anthony Gould.
That gap between Gardner’s public tone and the team’s formal designation now frames the Colts’ week as they prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings.
Gardner left Sunday’s game in the second half with the calf injury and did not return. He also did not participate in practice Wednesday, a detail that made his status worth watching even before the Colts made their decision official. By Friday, head coach Shane Steichen had already ruled him out for Week 7, along with Warren and Gould.
Warren’s absence is its own problem for Indianapolis. He has been ruled out with a groin injury, one that kept him out of Week 6 against Tennessee after he was hurt in practice. He also missed Wednesday’s practice because of the same issue, leaving the Colts without one of their tight ends for a second straight game.
Gould was also injured during Sunday’s game, adding another name to a Week 7 report that already had the Colts dealing with multiple absences before the full injury list is even released later Friday.
The result is a clearer picture of the Colts’ matchup with Minnesota: whatever Gardner felt about the severity of his calf injury, the team’s actual personnel plan is built around him not playing. That leaves Indianapolis to sort through a Week 7 availability report that has already taken shape around three ruled-out players and a defense that will have to line up without one of its top corners.
The Colts enter the game 2-4, and the injury list only sharpens the pressure around a roster that is already trying to recover from the loss to Tennessee. For now, the most important injury update is not Gardner’s optimism. It is the Colts’ final ruling.