Colts’ Jonathan Taylor to Return to Team Sunday
The Indianapolis Colts had a comeback victory against the Chicago Bears on Saturday night by a score of 24-17.
While the action was happening on the field, the dark cloud known as the Jonathan Taylor saga continued to linger over the organization. Taylor spent the last week away from the team with an excused absence to deal with a personal matter. The week before, Taylor spent time at an out-of-state facility to continue rehab on his surgically repaired ankle.
On Saturday evening, we finally received an update on when Taylor would rejoin the team. Head coach Shane Steichen told reporters after the game that Taylor would be back with the team on Sunday.
"Shane Steichen said Jonathan Taylor will be back with the team tomorrow," according to Nate Atkins of the Indy Star. "He’s not sure when he will practice, though."
The good news is that Taylor will be back with the team after practically two weeks away. However, Taylor still has not been medically cleared to practice and remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Taylor must be medically cleared and removed from the PUP list to practice.
Taylor requested a trade from the Colts on July 25th and has kept the same position that he would like to play elsewhere. The disgruntled Taylor is in search of a contract extension and is upset that the Colts have not yet offered him one. Colts' owner Jim Irsay publicly said the Colts have no intention of trading their All-Pro back.
General manager Chris Ballard spoke to SiriusXM NFL radio recently to express his thoughts on Taylor.
"I think the world of Jonathan," Ballard said. "He's been a great Colt, been a great player for the Colts. Unfortunately, last year he got hurt early in the season, was dinged all year, fought through it until he finally got to a point where he had to have the surgery. And now he's finishing his rehab process. Hopefully, as we move forward here, we'll get him back. But we need to get him 100% healthy before we do anything."
Getting Taylor back with the Colts is a good first step. The next course of action is for Taylor to get healthy on the field and for the Colts to attempt to repair the relationship.
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