Colts' Jeff Saturday still annoyed with Kayvon Thibodeaux's 'snow angel' celebration
Players gather around Indianapolis Colts quarterback Nick Foles after he was injured during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston) Credit: AP/Bryan Woolston
A day after losing to the Giants, 38-10, Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday was still peeved at Giants rookie outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and his own offensive line.
Saturday was upset during and after the game that Thibodeaux did “snow angels” on the turf with Colts quarterback Nick Foles lying injured right next to him. Foles eventually walked to the sideline on his own before a cart drove him off the field. He did not return after suffering a rib injury.
Saturday told reporters on Monday that Foles is “really sore” and will not play in the team’s season finale Sunday in Indianapolis against the Texans.
Saturday also called Thibodeaux “tasteless” and “trash” for his celebration. He also indicated that he was upset that the Colts’ offensive linemen did not stand up for Foles in that moment.
When Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked about the celebration and the Colts’ reaction, he replied: “That’s a good question for Kayvon. I think he answered it and addressed it [Sunday]. Quite sure that he didn’t know the player was hurt. Kayvon is a good young man, and I know he responded to questions about that [Sunday]. So I’ll leave that to him.”
Thibodeaux insisted after the game that he didn’t know Foles was injured on the play while he celebrated.
“When I did realize that he was hurt, that’s when we started getting up,” he said. “When you’re doing a celebration, you’re not looking to see who’s doing what. But I hope he gets well and I hope he’s all right.”
Who will play in Philly?
With the Giants locked in as the NFC’s sixth playoff seed, Daboll was asked about his plans for utilizing his personnel against the Eagles on Sunday.
“I’d say we’ll talk about it and do what’s best for the team,” he said. “We’ll go out there and try to have a good week of practice, prepare like we normally do and decide what we want to do relative to who’s playing, who’s not playing. Whatever we think is best for our team, that’s what we’ll end up doing.”
It seems likely that Daboll would want to rest, or partially rest, some of his players. (For example, on the defensive line, Leonard Williams has battled injuries this season and Dexter Lawrence has logged an unusually high number of snaps.)
Daboll said he will talk with general manager Joe Schoen and the coaching staff before reaching final decisions.
“I don’t think we need to make that decision right now,” Daboll said. “So again, we’ll do whatever we think is best for our guys and our team come this week.”
The Eagles would clinch the NFC East crown with a win or a Dallas loss. Philadelphia also would clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed, home-field advantage and the conference’s lone first-round bye with a win and losses by the Cowboys and 49ers.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
