After finally getting rolling, Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor sustained a thumb injury in Week 12. Despite carrying the ball 15 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns in Indy’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Taylor’s thumb injury required surgery. Not wasting any time, Taylor had the surgery on Wednesday, November 29th.
The initial timeline for Taylor to be sidelined was somewhere between two to five weeks. That’s why the Colts decided not to put the running back on injured reserve, where he’d have to miss atleast four games. The expectation was that Taylor would be out for atleast two games but possibly more.
After missing Indy’s Week 13 game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Taylor’s timeline is now completely unknown after an unrevealing answer by head coach Shane Steichen. During his press conference on Wednesday, Steichen was asked if it’s safe to say that JT isn’t going to play on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Steichen shrugged and responded, “We’ll see.”
It has been reported that #Colts RB: Jonathan Taylor would be out 3-5 weeks after surgery on thumb.
— Lawrence Owen (@Colts_Law) December 6, 2023
But HC: Shane Steichen would not rule him out against the #Bengals today. pic.twitter.com/LZWmURdRpp
Colts haven’t ruled out Jonathan Taylor for Week 14 Bengals game
This could just be Steichen keeping his cards close to the chest and keeping Cincinnati on its toes. It’s also possible that Jonathan Taylor could actually be ahead of schedule and may have a chance at playing on Sunday . If that happens, that would be just one game missed and Taylor would be back in action 10 days after surgery.
Like Steichen said, everyone will have to wait and see if that’s actually the case. According to Indy’s injury report, Taylor didn’t practice on Wednesday. However, it was only an estimation since the Colts held a walk-through. Regardless, everyone will be monitoring the injury report to see if Taylor returns to practice this week and to also see what his status will be for Sunday’s game.