Getty Interim head coach Jeff Saturday and the Indianapolis Colts may not see one of their offensive stars for the rest of the 2022 season.
Fans of the Indianapolis Colts may have seen the last of running back Jonathan Taylor during the 2022 season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on December 19 that Taylor suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15. He sustained the injury during the first quarter and did not return.
Rapoport also reported Taylor will continue meeting with doctors early this week, but that “it’s considered highly unlikely” that the 2021 NFL rushing champion will get back on the field this season.
Taylor left Week 15 before recording a carry, but he had 1 reception for 13 yards.
Colts Insider Urges Taylor to Sit the Rest of 2022 Season
Rapoport’s point that the Colts are likely to sit Taylor for the rest of this season makes a lot of sense. Although Indianapolis is technically still alive in the AFC South because the Tennessee Titans have lost four straight, the Colts hold a record of 4-9-1.
Realistically, their playoff chances are at practically zero. Therefore, there’s no reason to have Taylor gut through another performance.
The Athletic’s Zak Keefer argued that as well in a Twitter post on December 19.
“No reason JT should play the rest of the year,” Keefer wrote on social media. “Let that ankle fully heal.”
It would be one thing if this was Taylor’s first ankle issue of the season, but the star running back has been dealing with an off-and-on ankle injury since Week 4. He didn’t play in Week 5 and 6 because of his ankle.
The same injury popped up again, causing Taylor to sit out Week 9.
He returned in Week 10 to have one of his better performances of the season, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown during Jeff Saturday’s first game as Colts interim head coach.
Over the next three games, Taylor averaged 24 touches per week, but he never posted more than 4.3 yards per carry. Then on December 17, Taylor left early with another ankle problem.
Taylor has 861 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns with 28 receptions and 143 receiving yards in 11 games this season. He’s averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
Coming into this season, Taylor was averaging 5.3 yards per rush. He led the NFL with 332 rushing attempts, 1,811 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021.
Colts Moving Up in 2023 NFL Draft Order
Taylor’s exit didn’t impact Indianapolis in the first half against the Minnesota Vikings. But the Colts allowed the Vikings to erase a 33-point deficit to win 39-36 in overtime.
It was Indianapolis’ fourth straight loss, which has essentially dropped them out of the playoff race. But it has moved the team up in the NFL draft order.
Only the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears have a longer current losing streak than the Colts possess. Thanks to the skid, Indianapolis is now set to pick No. 6 in the first round next spring.
If the Los Angeles Rams win again on Monday Night Football, the Colts will slide up yet another spot to No. 5.
There are still three weeks remaining in the regular season, so a lot can still happen. The Colts are one of eight teams with 4 or 5 wins. Those teams figure to do a lot of shuffling in the draft order during the final few games of the 2022 season.
But the way the Colts have played in the fourth quarter since Saturday became head coach, Indianapolis figures to be in the conversation for a top 5 pick the rest of the year.
Not that the Colts should tank (and they won’t with Saturday in charge), but Taylor not playing will only help Indianapolis’ push towards the top of the draft board.