Colts get bad news on rookie safety A.J. Haulcy’s status for Sunday’s game vs Cowboys

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts will not have rookie strong safety A.J. Haulcy on Sunday against the Cowboys.

Haulcy suffered an ankle injury in Friday’s practice, and although Indianapolis initially listed the rookie as questionable for Sunday’s game, the Colts downgraded Haulcy to out on Saturday afternoon.

Second-year safety Hunter Wohler presumably steps into the lineup in place of Haulcy on Sunday. Indianapolis also elevated second-year safety Trey Washington from the practice squad.

Haulcy’s injury robs the defense of a starter, although the third-round pick out of LSU has struggled this season, making it unlikely that his absence will be crippling.

Indianapolis has given Haulcy eight starts and 396 snaps, and the rookie has responded with 39 tackles.

But Haulcy has often struggled with the adjustment to the NFL, making mistakes in coverage. Haulcy has allowed three touchdown passes and an opposing quarterback rating of 114.4 when he’s the nearest defender in coverage, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. A ballhawk in college who was known for taking the ball away, Haulcy has only two pass breakups so far.

Wohler, a player the Colts defensive staff has liked the last two years, has 16 tackles in 83 defensive snaps. He has not been targeted much in coverage, according to Next Gen Stats; Wohler has been the nearest defender in coverage on only three snaps so far.

Haulcy’s injury leaves the Colts a little thin in the middle of the defense.

Indianapolis had already declared out the team’s starting slot cornerback, Justin Walley, and the team’s starting middle linebacker, Akeem Davis-Gaither, although Davis-Gaither is not a strong defender in coverage. With Walley out again and Cam Taylor-Britt on injured reserve, the Colts elevated Johnathan Edwards from the practice squad for the second consecutive week.

Facing off against an explosive, talented Cowboys offense, the Colts need a few players to step up in the middle of the defense.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts get bad news on rookie safety A.J. Haulcy’s status for Sunday’s game vs Cowboys