Colts lose pass-rush star Freeney to IR, hope Rice helps

McFarland eventually helped shore up a leaky run defense, which aided the Colts' run to the Super Bowl title.

Rice, who feels Indy's system is a better fit for his skills than Denver's, hopes to make the same impact.

"I went there with the mind-set that they would play me the same way I played in the past, and that wasn't the case," Rice said of the Broncos. "It wasn't a good fit for me. This fits me. I like this situation, and I helped build this thing in Tampa."

Rice, in his 12th NFL season, has the second-most sacks of any active player in the NFL (121) and is expected to initially play the right side, where Freeney did.

It's uncertain how much playing time Rice might get this week against Kansas City, and Dungy indicated he may start Josh Thomas and use Rice primarily in pass-rushing situations.

"One thing we can't do is think that he (Rice) is going to be the savior or a knight in shining armor who is going to make everything OK," Dungy said.

Freeney's absence isn't the only one Indianapolis has to contend with.

Perennial Pro Bowl receiver Marvin Harrison (bruised left knee) and linebacker Freddy Keiaho (ear) have missed four of the last five games; tight end Dallas Clark sat out last week with a concussion; left tackle Tony Ugoh (neck) has missed three straight games; linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (neck) has been out the last two weeks; and defensive tackle Raheem Brock (neck) sat out Sunday.

Then in Sunday's game, right tackle Ryan Diem left with a right knee injury; Charlie Johnson, Ugoh's replacement, went down with a left knee injury; and defensive tackle Keyunta Dawson, Brock's replacement, left early with what appeared to be a hand injury.

The Colts did get some good news Wednesday with Clark and Ugoh both returning to practice.

The Colts placed backup linebacker Victor Worsley on injured reserve and re-signed defensive back T.J. Rushing to the active roster after cutting him Saturday to free up a roster spot. Indy also signed receiver Devin Aromashodu from the Houston practice squad, putting him on the active roster, and added linebacker Brandon Archer to the practice squad.