Running back Jonathan Taylor will return to practice for the Indianapolis Colts this week. It remains to be seen whether he will also play on the weekend.
Taylor began the season on the PUP list after failed contract negotiations and a failed trade, missing the first four games of the season. Now he can return to training and, according to head coach Shane Steichen, he will.
When he returns to training, a window of up to 21 days begins in which a team can evaluate a previously injured player and activate him at any time during this period. According to media reports, Taylor, who complained at the start of the season about back problems and pain in his ankle, which was injured in the previous season, has been fit again for a few weeks.
“He’s excited to be back with his teammates and I’m excited to have him on the team,” commented Steichen, who was also asked if Taylor could play as early as Sunday against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5: “That could be , Yes.”
Colts: First practice for Jonathan Taylor since December
Taylor returns to training for the first time since his ankle injury on December 17, 2022. “He’s in good shape as far as his conditioning goes. Putting on the pads and training is obviously something else. I know it’s been a long time since he last played football, so let’s see how the training goes first is running this week,” Steichen dampened expectations that were too high.
Taylor, who the Colts drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, is in the final year of his rookie contract and tried to secure a lucrative contract extension over the offseason, which the Colts refused to pursue. After lengthy quarrels, they allowed him to find a trading partner, but then scared off potential interested parties with exorbitantly high compensation demands. Taylor is due $4.3 million in salary this NFL season. He then becomes a free agent, but then he is threatened with the franchise tag.