INDIANAPOLIS -- Anthony Gonzalez might be out longer than the Colts first feared, and they found a replacement for him, too.
Colts coach Jim Caldwell said the third-year wide receiver could miss up to two months after spraining ligaments in his right knee during Sunday's 14-12 season-opening victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
NFL.com's Steve Wyche reported that wide receiver Hank Baskett, who was released by the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday, has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Colts to fill in for Gonzalez. The team announced after Thursday's practice that Baskett had signed.
"Since Anthony's going to be out a while, hopefully we can catch him up as soon as possible," Manning said when asked directly about having Baskett on the roster. "It's a lot of offense to learn in a couple of days, but he's a veteran, so he could help us."
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Team president Bill Polian said this past Monday that the Colts would only sign a veteran receiver if Gonzalez was expected to miss more than four weeks. The next day, in an interview on NFL Network, Polian acknowledged that Gonzalez was going for a second opinion on the injured knee.
Caldwell didn't provide any new details about the injury Thursday, other than to say: "It could be two to between six and eight weeks."
Initial reports indicated that Gonzalez wouldn't miss more than six weeks.
Losing Gonzalez for an extended period is a big blow to the Colts, who expected their 2007 first-round draft pick to replace Marvin Harrison, the franchise's career receiving leader, in the starting lineup this season. Harrison was released in a cost-cutting move in February and hasn't been signed by another team.
Gonzalez and Harrison put up nearly identical numbers last season, and the Colts believed Gonzalez was headed for a breakout year until he stepped across the line of scrimmage late in the first quarter Sunday and crumpled to the ground without touching another player.
The injury left the Colts perilously thin at receiver. Aside from Reggie Wayne, the only other healthy receivers on the roster are second-year pro Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie, a fourth-round pick from Brigham Young. Both put in extra time in the film room this week.
"Pierre is going to be a big part of our game plan, Austin Collie, too, no question," Manning said. "But this is the NFL. You can't just draw up a play and say this ball has got to go to Dallas Clark. Pierre has worked hard over here -- I think he spent six hours over the last two days studying film -- and Austin has done that as well."
Collie already has learned one significant difference between college ball and the NFL.
"I didn't feel as prepared for Jacksonville as I should have been," he said. "I think I underestimated what needs to be put into it, and I think I learned that lesson. I'm getting in the film room more, seeing how they disguise different coverages and different blitzes."
Baskett would give the Colts some intriguing possibilities. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he's bigger than any other Indy receiver.
Baskett spent all three of his previous NFL seasons with the Eagles, who reached the NFC Championship game last year. However, Baskett has just 72 career receptions for 1,052 yards and six TDs, and he caught only one pass for six yards in Sunday's rout of the Carolina Panthers.
The Eagles released Baskett on Tuesday.
The Associated Press attributed to this report
