After an underwhelming season that was impacted by injury, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor may need surgery.
After a breakout in 2021, Jonathan Taylor was supposed to continue dominating the league in 2022. Unfortunately, the season was underwhelming for him and the Indianapolis Colts. Due to struggles on the offensive line, Taylor’s run production wasn’t as explosive as many thought it would be but that wasn’t the only problem. In Week 4, Taylor’s ankle got rolled and it became an injury that he had to deal with all season.
Taylor initially missed two games and was ultimately sidelined for the year after injuring his ankle again in Week 15. The Colts shut Jonathan Taylor down after he played just 11 games on the season, racking up 192 carries for 861 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, Taylor isn’t quite done dealing with the ankle injury yet.
During end-of-season press conferences, Taylor and general manager Chris Ballard talked about the possibility of Jonathan Taylor having surgery on his ankle. It wasn’t a guaranteed plan yet because Taylor is still scheduled to meet with more specialists who will determine if he should have surgery or not.
Ballard doesn't rule out surgery for Jonathan Taylor. "It was a pretty good high ankle sprain."
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) January 10, 2023
Says Colts will know more in two weeks, but right now it's trending toward Taylor being able to avoid surgery.
Jonathan Taylor might have surgery on his ankle
The hope, of course, is for Taylor to avoid surgery but if he has to have it, it would ideally be better for him to have the procedure sooner rather than later. That way, he’ll have ample time to rehab and be back to his complete dominating ability when training camp rolls around. Surgery or not, this is a pretty big offseason for Taylor.
He will be entering the final season of his rookie deal and is eligible for an extension. Taylor has proved he’s one of the best running backs in the NFL, and prior to this past season, Taylor never missed a practice or game with an injury going back to his high school days. However, there will still be a debate on whether or not Taylor should receive a massive contract since he’s a running back, the position that people try to devalue.
When Ballard was asked about paying a running back a lot of money in his end-of-season press conference, he said that you pay running backs when they’re special. Well, Taylor is special and he wants to remain with the Colts, so expect an extension to be completed sometime this offseason.
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