By ANDREW CHERNOFF
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
The Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for their regular season opener.
The Colts host the Houston Texans on Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
The status of two Colts players though remain a question mark entering the matchup.
Wide receiver Josh Downs did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday this week. He continues to recover after suffering a high ankle sprain last month.
Head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday that “we’ll see” when it comes to Downs’ status for the game.
“He’s progressing really well though, I’ll say that,” Steichen said.
The other key player whose status remains a question mark is kicker Matt Gay. Gay confirmed on Wednesday that he recently underwent hernia surgery.
“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 said. “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.”
Like Downs, Gay did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
“Obviously, you want to be out there week one,” Gay said. “I mean, it’s a big game. Yeah, I want to be out there.”
Should Gay miss the game, Spencer Shrader would take over kicking duties for the Colts.
The rookie was signed to the team’s practice squad on Aug. 29. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in May before being waived on Aug. 25.
“I just feel so blessed honestly,” Shrader said. “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 saw some playing time during the Colts’ final preseason game against the Bengals last month. In that contest, he was 2-of-2 on his field goal attempts, and also converted his two extra point attempts. One of the field goals he made was a 56-yarder.
“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.”
Shrader is prepared should he need to step up in Gay’s absence on Sunday.
“I’m always looking at ways to refine my routine and get a little bit better,” Shrader said. “But yeah, it’s mostly stayed the same with a couple tweaks here and there.”
What makes this experience even more special for Shrader is that he is back home. The kicker grew up in Westfield, Ind. before he moved out of the state.
“It’s so cool to be back,” Shrader said. “To me, I believe that’s a God thing. The fact that I ended up back here, close to friends and family back home. It’s just been an unbelievable experience for me.”
Shrader began his collegiate career at South Florida, where he played for four seasons. He transferred to Notre Dame for the 2023 season.
Brian Mason, who is currently the Colts special teams coordinator, was the special teams coordinator at Notre Dame during the 2022 season.
“He (Mason) had recruited me to Notre Dame,” Shrader said. “So that is when I first made that connection and then (he) helped get me here (Indianapolis) as well.”
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/sports/indianapolis-colts/westfield-native-ready-to-step-up-for-colts-on-sunday-if-matt-gay-cant-play.