Resembling the form he displayed en route to the 2021 rushing title, Jonathan Taylor has excelled to open his fifth season. But reminders of the running back’s recent injury form have reemerged.

Taylor, who famously had not missed any time over his first two seasons and throughout his college career, appears set to be sidelined once again. The high-priced Colts running back sustained a high ankle sprain, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Although Taylor looks likely to be shelved for a bit, Rapoport adds this is not viewed as a particularly troublesome sprain. That said, high ankle sprains are regularly difficult to surmount. And Taylor has a history of ankle trouble being a big-picture issue.

Ankle trouble slowed Taylor for much of the 2022 season, bringing his run of durability to a halt. A sprain sustained in Week 4 of the 2022 season affected the former All-Pro for most of that ’22 slate, with a high ankle sprain diagnosis that December eventually leading to a late-season shutdown. Taylor missed six games in 2022, including the final three, and underwent surgery.

That injury eventually became cover for Taylor to stage a de facto hold-in, landing on the Colts’ reserve/PUP list despite Jim Irsay declaring him good to go before training camp. The Colts ended up paying their starting running back — on a three-year, $42MM deal that undoubtedly affected this year’s RB market — before he debuted in Week 5 of the 2023 season. But Taylor did not match his pre-injury form too often for a Colts team that again lost its RB1 due to a late-season thumb injury.

This year, Taylor is averaging 4.8 yards per carry (349 in total), and his 66 rushing yards over expected (per Next Gen Stats) ranks seventh in the NFL. The Wisconsin alum has not eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards since that dominant 2021 showing (1,811), but was well on his way to a third 1,000-yard season before this injury.

As of now, it does not appear Taylor is an IR candidate. Saquon Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2 last year and returned by Week 6. Considering Taylor’s history with ankle trouble, the Colts could well be cautious. The team has Trey Sermon in place as Taylor’s top backup, with Tyler Goodson also on Indianapolis’ 53-man roster. Taylor has taken 72 handoffs to Sermon’s nine, however, marking a split that does not resemble the Taylor-Zack Moss workload from 2023. Second-year back Evan Hull resides on Indy’s practice squad.

The Colts could welcome back their offensive star as soon as next week. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there’s optimism that running back Jonathan Taylor will be available for the Colts’ Christmas Eve matchup against the Falcons.

Taylor suffered a torn UCL in his thumb back in Week 12, and standard surgery would have kept the running back off the field for months. Instead, the player underwent an internal brace procedure, giving him a recovery timeline of three-to-five weeks.

Taylor wasn’t able to return to the field for the short end of that recovery timeline, as the running back was already ruled out for today’s game against the Steelers. The Colts decided against placing Taylor on injured reserve, a move that would have kept him off the active roster until at least Week 17.

The former All-Pro RB missed the start of the season thanks to an ankle injury/contract dispute, and it didn’t take long for Taylor to return to the field after inking a a three-year, $42MM deal in October. In his seven appearances, Taylor was averaging a career-low 59.1 rushing yards per game, but he was starting to heat up before his latest injury, collecting 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Week 10 and Week 12.

Zack Moss had a productive start to the season while filling in for Taylor, but the veteran backup has struggled during Taylor’s most recent absence. Over the past two weeks, Moss has collected 113 yards from scrimmage on 38 touches.

Just as Jonathan Taylor had ramped up to a level reminding of his pre-injury version, the recently extended running back needed another shutdown period. Taylor underwent thumb surgery last week, and the Colts do not appear to be expecting him back too soon.

Although Taylor played through the injury to close out the Colts’ Week 12 game, the former rushing champion’s issue was serious enough it required an immediate procedure. Taylor suffered a torn UCL in his thumb, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who details the nature of the setback. The fourth-year back tore the ligament off the thumb’s base. The damage also affected a tendon in Taylor’s hand, with surgery the only way to correct this issue.

Had Taylor gone in for a standard surgery to address the UCL tear, he would have faced a months-long recovery. Instead, Rapoport adds an internal brace procedure — one that stands to allow a late-season comeback — became the plan of attack. The internal brace procedure, which Drew Brees underwent in 2019, presents Taylor with a three- to five-week recovery timetable. The Colts do not plan to place Taylor on IR while he recovers, which allows him to avoid a mandatory four-game absence.

When Taylor went under the knife in Los Angeles, the Colts hoped to have him back in two or three weeks. The three- to five-week timetable would stand to sideline Taylor in Week 15 as well. While a minimum three-week hiatus may be more damaging to fantasy GMs than the Colts, given Zack Moss‘ production in extended relief this season, Indianapolis does have two games against fellow AFC playoff contenders — being set to play the Bengals — over the next two weeks.

Taylor, 24, did well to secure guaranteed money when he could, having now experienced ankle and thumb ailments that required surgeries. While the journey to reach that extension led the Colts and their starting running back to a strange place from which an escape once seemed difficult to envision, Taylor signed a three-year, $42MM deal in October — before coming off the reserve/PUP list. The 2021 All-Pro received $19.3MM fully guaranteed, while an additional $7.2MM will come his way in 2024. That additional $7.2MM — part of Taylor’s 2025 salary — shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2024 league year.

Prior to last year’s ankle injury, Taylor rolled through his Wisconsin tenure and first two Indianapolis seasons without a notable injury. The Colts acquired Moss in the Nyheim Hines trade last year, and the ex-Bills second-rounder has played exceedingly well in his contract year. While lacking Taylor’s top-end skillset, Moss boasts a better yards-per-carry number (4.5) to the Colts’ preferred starter (4.1) this season. Moss’ 723 rushing yards rank 11th this season.

Taylor’s deal will allow him to avoid a 2024 franchise tag or a trip to what could be a crowded free agent market. Moss joins Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler and D’Andre Swift as notable backs in contract years.

NOVEMBER 29: The Colts are not looking to save a roster spot here. They will go week to week with Taylor, per Shane Steichen, who said (via the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson) the team is not considering an IR stint. Steichen pointed to Irsay’s timeline of a Week 15 or Week 16 Taylor return being a realistic target.

NOVEMBER 28, 3:01pm: Taylor will indeed miss time. The standout back is set to undergo thumb surgery, according to Jim Irsay (via The Athletic’s James Boyd). This is not a season-ending procedure, but Boyd notes a multiweek absence is expected. The Colts hope Taylor will be able to return in two or three weeks, though Rapoport adds an IR move — one that would sideline Taylor for four games — may be under consideration before this week’s game.

1:13pm: Just as he has reestablished himself as a full-time player, Jonathan Taylor may need some additional time off. The Colts running back — who has overtaken Zack Moss after his re-acclimation period upon returning from the reserve/PUP list — is uncertain for Week 13 due to a thumb injury, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Taylor sustained the injury during his 91-yard, two-touchdown game against the Buccaneers, a Colts win that helped the team to 6-5 and into the No. 7 spot in the AFC’s playoff race. All options are on the table here, per Rapoport, though ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder notes the team remains in evaluation mode. No IR decision has been made.

Coming into last season, Taylor had not missed any time due to injury during his NFL or college careers. He attempted to play through an ankle issue last season but missed six games and eventually required surgery. That problem may or may not have dragged into the summer, with Taylor’s contractual impasse and subsequent trade request having plenty to do with his absence from training camp as well. But Taylor still missed the season’s first four games. After signing a three-year, $42MM extension, the fourth-year running back was in uniform for Week 5.

The Colts had steadily increased their standout starter’s workload in the weeks since his return. His snap share went from 15% to 42% to 50% to 61% to 74% to 88% from Weeks 5-10. In Week 12, Taylor played 58% of Indianapolis’ offensive snaps; he was, however, on the field to convert a game-clinching first down in the final minutes. The Wisconsin alum has two 90-yard rushing games over his past four.

Having made an unexpected voyage into surefire playoff contention, the Colts have a clear Taylor backup plan. Moss remains 10th in the NFL with 672 rushing yards. While not as talented as Indy’s starter, Moss holds a 4.8-yard average per carry (compared to Taylor’s 4.1 number) and has played well in a contract year. If Taylor needs to miss time, the 2022 trade acquisition will likely step in as a full-time player once again. After sustaining a broken hand during camp and missing Week 1, Moss retook the reins and kept them until the Colts deemed Taylor ready to go. He played at least 76% of Indy’s offensive snaps in four games this season.