The Indianapolis Colts reached for a familiar name on Saturday, elevating wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from the practice squad after ruling out Keenan Allen for Sunday’s Week 4 game against the Washington Commanders in London, via the NFL transaction wire.
Allen’s groin injury ended a week that had begun with cautious optimism.
He sat out Friday’s practice after limited work earlier in the week and was listed as questionable before the Colts downgraded him to out. The veteran had been a steady piece of the passing game through three weeks, with 13 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.
His absence thins an already banged-up receiver room.
Alec Pierce is on injured reserve, Ashton Dulin is dealing with an ankle that has already cost him two games, and Darius Slayton has yet to play since signing with Indianapolis last month.
That leaves Josh Downs, Laquon Treadwell, Deion Burks, and Anthony Gould as the primary options, with Westbrook-Ikhine added as insurance for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The elevation is not a first look. Indianapolis called Westbrook-Ikhine up for last Sunday’s win over Houston, where he played a single offensive snap and 15 on special teams without a target, then reverted to the practice squad on Monday.
Standard elevation rules leave him eligible for two more call-ups this season, so Saturday’s move does not commit the Colts to a longer roster stay.
The path that brought him here has been uneven. An undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2020, he stuck with the Tennessee Titans after an early training-camp cut and became a reliable complementary receiver.
His best year came in 2024, when he caught 32 passes for 497 yards and nine touchdowns.
Miami then gave him a two-year, $6.5 million deal, but the fit never developed: 11 catches for 89 yards in 15 games, and a release in February. Indianapolis signed him in March on a one-year deal worth $1.4 million, waived him at the end of camp, and brought him back to the practice squad the next day.
At 29, Westbrook-Ikhine is no longer the deep threat who posted nine scores two seasons ago. Across six NFL seasons he has 137 receptions for 1,862 yards and 19 touchdowns, most of that production coming in Tennessee.
For Sunday, the Colts are asking for something narrower: another body who knows the offense, can contribute on special teams, and can absorb a few snaps if the remaining receivers need relief.
Whether that role grows depends on how long Allen’s groin keeps him out, and on whether Indianapolis decides a practice-squad veteran is worth more than another temporary elevation.
