Colts offensive lineman Matt Slauson is out for the season, but he's incredibly lucky to only be on injured reserve.
On Wednesday -- six days after he was on the field for all 88 possible snaps against the Patriots and two days after the Colts placed him on injured reserve out of nowhere -- Slauson revealed that he played nearly the entire second half of Thursday night's game with two broken vertebrae in his spine. He acknowledged that he was a play away from paralysis. He just didn't know it at the time.
"I felt like if I could stand, I could play," he said, per the Indianapolis Star's Zak Keefer.
It was only afterward when he realized how close he came to a life-altering injury.
"I had no idea how close I was to changing my family's life," he said.
Slauson added that, "It does me no good to wrestle over (what could have happened), but I'll be honest, it's really hard not to think about it."
Slauson, who entered the NFL in 2009, has played for a number of teams, from the Jets to the Bears to the Chargers and now the Colts. At 32 years old, he's nearing the end of his playing days. He played in only seven games last year and five games this year. And his contract with the Colts is set to expire after the season. From a health perspective, he'll be reevaluated in January.
If he does return to the field, Slauson indicated he'd like to return to the Colts next year. And the Colts appear to value his role as a mentor.
Without Slauson, the Colts will likely turn to rookie Braden Smith to fill his void at right guard. Smith, taken in the second round, will be playing alongside first-round pick and starting left guard Quenton Nelson. The Colts might want Slauson back as a mentor, but the youth movement is already taking over as they try to provide Andrew Luck with the protection he deserves.
So far this season, the 1-4 Colts own the sixth-best pass-blocking offensive line, according to Football Outsiders. Last year, they finished dead last.