What's next for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts? A look at all the options

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jonathan Taylor has a chance to come back and play for the Colts this week.
When he actually does is now the question.
Indianapolis' All-Pro running back is eligible to return from the Physically Unable to Perform List as early as Monday. Per NFL rules, he had to miss the first four games once the Colts placed him on the list to end the preseason, which they did for what general manager Chris Ballard described as pain in the ankle.
Here are the options facing Taylor and the Colts now:
When can Jonathan Taylor play?
The Colts can add Taylor back to the 53-man roster as soon as they wish, but they don't have to. They can open a practice window for him that keeps him on the PUP List but allows him to work with the team during the week in order to ramp back up to speed. They can keep that window open for up to 21 days.
So, it's possible that Taylor will stay on the PUP List until the start of Week 8 before he's added back to the active roster.
But Taylor has shown signs of returning to form. He posted a video to his Instagram in Week 1, showing him running a route and making a sharp cut on the ankle he had surgically repaired in January. He hasn't had a football practice since Week 13 of last season, so he could need some time to build up to the state needed to run the ball in games.
As for the injury itself, Taylor underwent arthroscopic debridement in January as a way to clean up an ankle he had a high sprain on and played through for seven games in 2022. The procedure carries a 2- to 4-week return-to-play window, a source with knowledge of these procedures told Indy Star. It has been eight months since that procedure.
Taylor was adamant, then and later in the spring, that he'd bounce back in time for training camp, though he sat out the offseason program. He arrived to training camp and went on the PUP List the same day he requested a trade elsewhere in search of a new contract, ESPN reported.
He's been on the PUP List ever since with what the Colts labeled as pain in the ankle relating to his 2022 injuries. It's a situation where only Taylor can decide when he's better, and his posting of a video and a report that leaked to ESPN stating that he could pass a physical in Week 1 indicates that he's past that point.
Could the Colts still trade Jonathan Taylor?
The Colts granted Taylor permission to seek a trade after he requested one in training camp, and though they didn't make a move before placing him on the PUP List, it is an option if the two sides still can't figure out a working relationship, or if a team blows them away with an offer. They have until Oct. 31 to work out a potential trade.
The odds of an offer blowing away the Colts appears to be low, considering Ballard said no team came close to the price tag in the preseason, and the return is only likely to get worse after Taylor missed the first four games. The Dolphins were one of the teams reportedly in the mix, but they have had no issue becoming the most explosive offense in the NFL without him. The Packers were another, and they do have a need for more offense, but that need might be too widespread for a running back to fix.
The Colts want to see Taylor bounce back from his ankle issues to run like the rushing champion he was in 2021, and other teams could feel the same way. Taylor shared the Instagram video early in the season to show a glimpse into those capabilities. But he might need to show it in games first. He could play up to four games before the Oct. 31 deadline, if he were to come back this week.
Does Jonathan Taylor want to play?
What the Colts and Taylor are allowed to do and what will actually happen are two different conversations.
This stand-off now dates back to the early part of the summer, when Taylor switched agencies and made his feelings known publicly about his desire for a new contract and the difficulty getting that message through to the Colts. Indianapolis had a track record of rewarding cornerstone players entering the final year of their first contract, from Quenton Nelson to Shaquille Leonard to Braden Smith to Kenny Moore II to Nyheim Hines.
It ramped up in July, when Taylor requested a trade the day he told the Colts he had pain in his ankle, and the team placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform List. Since then, he's taken his rehab off-site for a week, and he's mostly trained away from the rest of the team, avoiding all practices and games since the preseason began.
"The situation sucks," Ballard said at the end of the preseason. "I’m not going to sit here and give you some rosy picture like everything is OK. No, it sucks. It sucks for the Colts, it sucks for Jonathan Taylor and it sucks for our fans. It does.
"It’s where we’re at and we’ve got to work through it, and we’re going to do everything we can to work through it. Relationships are repairable. They’re repairable. Guys get emotional and take a stance. You’ve got to be able to work through those."
In August, Taylor's agent, Malki Kawa, tweeted "I doubt it" to a suggestion that the relationship could be repaired. Taylor has yet to rescind his request to be traded. But he also hasn't spoken publicly since July, so his full feelings on the situation remain a mystery until he does.
Ultimately, Taylor wants to be paid at a market rate for his position, which is between $12 million and $16 million annually, with multiple years and guarantees that allow him to feel right about the injury risk he assumes anytime he steps on the field. The Colts haven't wanted to extend that kind of offer, and they haven't been willing to promise that they won't use the franchise tag this year or next, which would pay him at least $10 million but offer no guarantees beyond that season.
Since Taylor is in the final year of his contract, he must participate in practice this year in order to hit free agency in the spring. How much is hard to know, as the NFL rules don't specifically outline whether he must return for games.
If Taylor can find a way to avoid the franchise tag, he could add value to his free agent market if he plays like he did in 2021, so long as he doesn't add more injuries or too much of a workload to his profile.
The Colts do at least have a much better situation to present to him this year than last year, when he injured his ankle three times and saw his production dip to 4.5 yards per carry. They have an improved offensive line through the first month of the season. They have a quarterback in Anthony Richardson whose own mobility can open up lanes for running backs. And they have a complementary back in Zack Moss, who could take some carries off Taylor's workload, especially ones between the tackles and in short yardage that present the most injury risk.
But how Taylor is used ultimately lies in the hands of the Colts, and he hasn't shown a willingness to trust them in recent months. Until that changes, the willingness he has to play if his body is compromised will remain a question.
“With football, the injury rate is 100%,” Taylor said a couple years ago. “The only thing you can do is maximize the maximization. Maximize everything you’re doing to prepare in order to minimize your risk of injury.”
What could Jonathan Taylor's return look like?
But if Taylor is willing to come back, the upside for him and the Colts could be very high.
Without him, Richardson has averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 23 touches. Moss has averaged 4.2 yards on 66 touches.
Richardson is a rookie and Moss is a short-yardage back who ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash entering the league. So adding in a player with 4.39-second speed and the proven ability to maximize it -- like Taylor did to hit three of the top six ball-carrier times in 2021, according to NextGen Stats -- might be exactly what the Colts offense needs.
After all, the last time Taylor was healthy for a season, he ran for 1,811 yards, 18 touchdowns and 5.5 yards per carry. He had nearly 500 yards more than any other player in the sport.
It could introduce a consistent level of explosiveness that the passing game doesn't yet have as Richardson develops. It could force defenses to play with a safety in the box, allowing Richardson to run play-action to generate explosive passing plays along the sidelines with Alec Pierce or Michael Pittman Jr. And it could work in tandem with the passing game, Richardson's rushing and Moss' rushing to keep all pieces fresh and a defense guessing what Steichen is going to call.
This type of situation could maximize Taylor's efficiency while lowering his volume, and it could enable the Colts, who are 2-2, to push for a potential playoff spot if they all hit their ceiling.
These are the best-case scenarios, though, and in Taylor's view, they could still end up without a reward for him if the franchise tag is in place. Or worse, if he suffers another major injury, which can happen on any play.
It leaves this as a situation with lots of upside but just as many question marks.