Daniel Jones gets help from ex-Duke teammates with 3D-printed pad for injured leg
The Indianapolis Colts are chasing the AFC South title and are hoping their quarterback with a fractured fibula can help deliver a top playoff seed.
That's why Jones has consulted with a pair of his college teammates who have created a special 3D-printed pad to better protect his injured leg.
I'm lucky to have smart friends," Jones joked to reporters on Wednesday. It's pretty low-profile and fits to my leg pretty well. I don't really notice it."
Clark Bulleit, a former Duke center, and Kevin Gehsmann, an ex-linebacker for the Blue Devils, have helped Jones before in a similar situation. In 2018, they created a pad for Jones after he fractured his collarbone during a game against Northwestern.
Bulleit and Gehsmann majored in mechanical and biomedical engineering and now run Protect3D, a company that makes custom-printed 3D braces and orthotics. After Jones suffered the fracture in his lower leg last month, his former Duke teammates created a thin pad that goes under the left leg of his football pants. He's worn it in each of the past two weeks.
All Bulleit and Gehsmann needed to create the pad was a 60-second scan that led to a 90-minute design process. A day and a half later, the pad was delivered to Jones the night before the Colts' 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
I think they had the idea before [the collarbone injury], but I was the first pad that they printed that was played with," Jones said Wednesday. They were starting up that business and had had the idea about it my last year at Duke.
And since then, they've built a pretty good business, 3D printing those devices and pads. Kinda funny that I'm using one of them again, but they're smart guys. I'm lucky to have smart friends."
The Colts have five games remaining in the regular season, three of them against AFC South foes -- two against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans in Week 18.
Tied with the Jaguars atop the division at 8-4 and just ahead of the 7-5 Texans, earning one of the AFC's top four seeds will be a tough assignment. Missing out on a division crown could result in missing the playoffs entirely.
Jones is having a bounce-back season and Jonathan Taylor has played his way into the NFL MVP conversation. The Colts need a healthy Jones in order to not waste what could be a breakthrough season after not having made the playoffs since 2020.