Desperate for quarterback help, Colts sign Josh Freeman, Ryan Lindley

The Indianapolis Colts' season has taken another turn, as the team has announced the signings of Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley, necessary moves for a team desperate for a healthy quarterback.

Andrew Luck has been out for several weeks as he recovers from a lacerated kidney, and still has not been cleared to practice. His backup, Matt Hasselbeck, suffered a Grade 1 throwing shoulder sprain on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and is doubtful for the season finale.

Charlie Whitehurst, who came on when Hasselbeck went down, also was injured in the game, straining a hamstring. On Monday, the Colts placed Whitehurst on injured reserve, ending his season.

With Whitehurst out and Hasselbeck unlikely to be avilable, Indianapolis came into Tuesday with undrafted first-year player Stephen Morris as their likely starter for this week and the only quarterback who wasn't injured. Morris was signed off the Eagles' practice squad less than a week ago. He spent 2014 on the Jaguars' practice squad. He has never played an NFL snap.

Though he signed just five days before kickoff, Colts coach Chuck Pagano didn't rule out starting Freeman because he has little choice. He can play a completely untested kid who's been with his team for less than a week, a former first-round pick in Freeman who hasn't been on an NFL roster in months but has 60 career starts on his resume, even if the last one came in 2013, or Lindley, who is most known for his not-ready-for-prime-time performance in the playoffs against the Panthers last season when he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals.

“I don’t know. We’ll see how the week goes," Pagano said (the Lindley signing was announced after Pagano's news conference).

"If we go down that road, we’ll have to prepare both guys obviously. Decide who gets the lion’s share of the reps and then I’ll be able to give you more information because we haven’t done anything to this point so I can’t give you a logical answer yet.”