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The Indianapolis Colts placed star running back Jonathan Taylor on injured reserve on December 20, effectively ending his season, per a report from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
The move was anticipated after Taylor suffered a high-ankle sprain during the Colts’ historic overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings on December 17.
In a postgame press conference, Colts head coach Jeff Saturday said it’s the same ankle Taylor hurt during the Colts’ Week 4 loss to the Tennessee Titans. That initial ankle injury forced the former second-round pick to miss two consecutive games in October.
Following Week 15, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that it would be unlikely to see Taylor take the field again this season, and the Colts confirmed that notion just a day later. The decision to hold Taylor out with a 4-9-1 record affirms the team’s grim playoff chances with just three weeks left in the regular season.
In a corresponding transaction, the Colts promoted running back Jordan Wilkins to the 53-man roster, according to Rapoport.
“Just that stability that you have with a running back like that, [Taylor’s] explosive ability that happens after he gets past the line of scrimmage, all of those different things that he has shown. That’s a major weapon for us that obviously we lost,” Saturday said after the Colts’ loss to Minnesota.
Next Man Up
The Colts acquired running back Zack Moss and a 2023 conditional sixth-round pick from the Buffalo Bills on November 1 in exchange for former fourth-round selection Nyheim Hines. Now, Moss looks to be the bellcow of the Colts’ offense.
A former third-round pick, Moss saw limited production behind Taylor in his first four games with the team, tallying just seven carries for 31 yards. After Taylor’s injury against the Vikings, however, Moss’ production increased and he notched 24 carries for 81 yards.
Eighty-one rushing yards tied a career-best for Moss. The third-year back out of Utah had also not seen more than 14 carries in an NFL game before December 17.
After Moss, Deon Jackson looks to be the change-of-pace back, with newly promoted Wilkins just behind him in the depth chart.
In the three games Taylor missed due to injury earlier this season, Jackson started and amassed 36 carries for 127 rushing yards. He also added 16 catches for 121 receiving yards.
On Saturday, Jackson complemented Moss’ workhorse role with 13 rushing attempts for 55 yards.
“I thought both Moss and Jackson fought their tail off,” Saturday said after the Colts’ loss to the Vikings.
Taylor’s Absence and Impact on the Offense
As evident from his 2021 campaign in which he garnered first-team All-Pro honors, Taylor is undoubtedly the Colts’ most dynamic offensive player.
Last season, the Colts finished second in the NFL in rushing offense with 2,540 yards — mostly in part due to Taylor, who led the league with 1,811 rushing yards. His total marked 552 more than Cleveland Browns back Nick Chubb, who had the second-most rushing yards in the NFL (1,259).
This year, however, the Colts have struggled, ranking 24th in total offense and 25th in rushing. But despite missing three games, Taylor is still within the top 14 league leaders in rushing yards with 861.
“Anytime you have him, you’re a much better football team,” Saturday said postgame on December 17.
Taylor’s 1,004 total yards of offense leads the team, while wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.’s 845 all-purpose yards rank second. Indianapolis will have to find new ways to spread the ball around without their best player involved in the run-heavy scheme.
Taylor has had good fortune dealing with injuries up until this point of his football career, as it’s his first major injury since junior high school, according to The Athletic’s Zak Keefer.
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