Robert Mathis Injury: Updates on Colts LB's Achilles and Recovery

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 11

Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star passed along comments from Chuck Pagano on Robert Mathis' surgery:

Original Text

Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis reportedly tore his Achilles tendon while training last week and will miss the remainder of the 2014 NFL regular season, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

Mike Wells of ESPN reported on the next step for Mathis after the injury:

Bleacher Report’s Will Carroll speculated that Mathis will have a lot of explaining to do:

Mathis, 33, is currently suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.     

While Mathis is not allowed in the Indianapolis locker room during the suspension, he left a note on his locker to let the rest of his teammates know how much he is missing the game, via Kevin Bowen of the Colts' official website:

"

Athletes: Don’t take the sport you play for granted. Every time you play, you better be damn thankful that you get to do something you love. Don’t show up to practice complaining about not wanting to be there; you’re there hopefully because you love it. Work hard every moment. If you’re not working hard, you don’t deserve to play. Play every practice or game like it’s your last because it very well could be. When you finally reach the day that you can’t play, and you can only watch, then you will know how much you love something that you once took for granted.

"

Head coach Chuck Pagano commented on Mathis' injury on Monday (via Conrad Brunner of 1070 The Fan):

"

#Colts Pagano: Just like Reggie last year, your warrior, your leader. He'll be missed.

— Conrad Brunner (@1070Bruno) September 8, 2014"

Steve Andress of Colts.com shared reaction from the team following the news:

Mathis registered 19.5 sacks in 2013 and was a dominant force on the defensive side of the ball for Indianapolis. According to the report from Florio, the linebacker makes $5 million this year and $7 million in 2015.

The Colts have used second-year pass-rush specialist Bjoern Werner as Mathis’ replacement, and he'll likely continue to fill the same role for the rest of the season. Werner had three tackles in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos.

This is no doubt a huge blow for the Colts, and it's an unfortunate development for the 12-year veteran.

*Stats via NFL.com.