Indianapolis Colts put Christine Michael on I.R., Frank Gore expected to be workhorse

June 16 (UPI) -- The Indianapolis Colts shelved Christine Michael on injured reserve Thursday.

In a corresponding move, the franchise signed Troymaine Pope. But all of this doesn't mean much in the world of Frank Gore, who is entering his 13th season in the NFL.

Gore, 34, is in for another "workhorse" role this year, according to CBS4 Indianapolis.

Michael went down at minicamp, but the specifics of the injury are not yet known. The Colts signed Michael on June 1. The 26-year-old had impressed Colts coaches this offseason before being placed on injured reserve.

"You've got a talented guy that's sitting there and he's on the street and he's available," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said of Michael on Tuesday. "Chris [Ballard] and the personnel staff – you talk it through and you bring him in. You work him out and it's easy to see, the first drill he did, you could see the talent. So you give a guy an opportunity to come in and compete and see what happens."

Gore has been limited this offseason. But offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski told reporters Wednesday that the Colts are just being flexible with its management of the veteran back.

"I think it's a similar plan overall as you're looking at it," Chudzinski said. "I think the details are what you have to be flexible with. Now what does that mean? How many carries a game does that mean? How many carries? How many days practicing? All of those types of things. A lot of that will be on how he feels, obviously, and how the season goes in that way. We'll be flexible in that way. Obviously, we're going to have a plan for Frank to manage, but I don't know. Is there much of a difference between 34 and 33 or 35 or whatever? I don't know. It may be for me or you something else than it is for Frank Gore."

Gore said in May that he'll be ready for training camp.

"I feel as long as I'm healthy and my guys up front and I get the opportunities, I'm going to be successful," Gore told reporters last month. "I think the more I'm successful, the more this team will be successful. I don't really think about yards and that anymore, but like I said, as long as I'm playing healthy, that'll come. But right now I want to get back to before I got here. Get back to how the team was competing to get to the championship."

While coaches have touted backup running back Robert Turbin, expect Gore to again lead this backfield. Gore might not be a sexy running back pickup in fantasy football, but he will do the job consistently for your team and won't require a huge investment in your fantasy draft. He has also started 80 consecutive regular-season games, dating back to 2012.

Gore has at least 1,200 yards from scrimmage in every season since 2006. Last season he had 1,302 yards from scrimmage with eight scores. Gore should be looked in as an RB2 and targeted anytime after the third round.