T.Y. Hilton returns to practice, but Colts won't play WR unless he's 100 percent

INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in three weeks, T.Y. Hilton returned to the practice field Thursday.

But that does not necessarily mean Hilton will be back on the field Monday night against the Saints.

This time, Hilton has a higher bar to clear, in large part due to the nature of the calf injury that has cost him five of the last six games, an injury he says he will reveal at the end of the season.

“I hope something works out,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “Obviously, after what happened last time, we’re going to be cautious. We’ll monitor him as the week goes on.”

In the past, Hilton has largely set his own schedule for recovery and playing through injury. Reich trusts the eight-year veteran, and a year ago, Hilton was one of the best receivers in the NFL down the stretch despite playing with two sprains in the same ankle, an injury that kept him from practicing.

“He’s a guy that trusts me and trusts the training staff,” Hilton said. “We’ll just continue to work, and I know he’ll be happy to have me out here if he can.”

Hilton has already declared his intentions; he opened the week on Wednesday by saying he’ll play against the Saints if he feels like the calf injury has healed.

The veteran receiver also said that a trip to injured reserve has never been a part of his thinking, even though the Colts’ playoff hopes are on life support at 6-7. Hilton does not want to quit on his team, and his head coach has a great deal of respect for a player like that.

“No. 1, that’s just who he is,” Reich said. “He’s just a competitor. That’s why he’s one of the leaders of this team, that’s why guys look up to him, that’s why he’s done what he’s done in his career. … When I saw that he said that, it made me smile.”

Reich also knows that this time, it’s not as simple as it has been in the past.

The calf injury Hilton suffered the week before the Pittsburgh game is different from the ankle or other injuries he’s played through in the past.

Hilton returned from that injury in three weeks, the minimum expected time for recovery, and played a limited 25 snaps against the Texans, then suffered a setback in the calf in practice a week later.

Knowing that history, Reich and the Colts plan to be cautious.

“We’re going to protect him from himself, too,” Reich said. “If by chance he’s out there, it’s only going to be because we think he’s 100 percent.”

Hilton will practice on a limited basis Thursday, joined in that designation by cornerback Pierre Desir; fellow cornerback Kenny Moore, who missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, is not going to practice but will be monitored as the week progresses.

From Hilton’s perspective, that’s a good sign; he did not practice the week before playing the Texans, although Indianapolis did estimate that he would have been a full participant in that week’s final practice, a walk-through like every practice on the short week.

“I’ll just figure it out,” Hilton said Tuesday. “If I’m able to go out there and practice, then it’s a bonus. If I can’t, and I’m feeling good on Monday, I’ll go out and play. If not, then just wait ‘til next week and see how it happens.”

Hilton has typically driven the decision-making process in the past.

This time, it might take a little bit more work to convince his coach.

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