Colts elevate Westfield-native Shrader ahead of season opener
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Colts are making their final roster adjustments before Sunday’s season opener against the Houston Texans.
Saturday, the team elevated kicker Spencer Shrader and cornerback Chris Lammons to the active roster from the practice squad.
The move stands out specifically in Shrader’s case. The undrafted rookie from Notre Dame and former Westfield Shamrock will suit up for his hometown team to begin his NFL career as the Colts starting kicker Matt Gay continues to recover from hernia surgery.
Gay is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Lucas Oil Stadium. Gay underwent surgery to deal with the hernia — which flared up after the last preseason game in Cincinnati.
“The whole thing that went into this whole decision was timing and not wanting to let it prolong and get worse and miss more time later on,” Gay told News 8 on Thursday. “Being able to get it done now and take care of it now. And then obviously, you want to be smart and work your way back so you come back healthy and fully and you don’t set yourself back.”
Shrader’s elevation is only an insurance move for now. The final injury report will be released Sunday around 11:30 a.m.
Either way, Shrader is excited to have a chance to play for the Colts this weekend.
“I just feel so blessed honestly,” Shrader said Thursday. “That’s my biggest emotion. Just feeling blessed to be here. I just got another day. Hopefully Sunday comes for me, but, for now, I have today. So I’m just focusing on maximizing that.”
Shrader made both field goal attempts against the Bengals — his longest being from 56 yards out. He said getting that in-game experience just makes him even more ready to play in the regular season.
“It goes to show that everything you know you can do in practice, you can also execute on the biggest stage,” Shrader said. “So it helps you as a confidence booster. But it’s not like I didn’t know I wasn’t capable of that to begin with.”
The Colts kick off the season against the Texans at 1 p.m. Sunday in downtown Indianapolis. Tune into Countdown to Kickoff — the only one-hour Colts pregame show — live from the sidelines with the News 8 Sports team. Then, remember to Switch to WISH after the game for the only live Postgame Show, bringing you all the reaction from the Colts first game of the season.
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