It’s been a mysterious offseason for Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts, with a lot of lows but not too many highs. After the Colts refused to offer Taylor a contract extension, he demanded a trade from the team. Indy initially denied the request, then negotiated with other teams, before ultimately deciding to keep Taylor after not being pleased with the offers they were hearing.
All the while, Taylor hasn’t been on the field, still recovering from the ankle surgery that he had in January. That’s why Taylor opened the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Currently sidelined, Taylor took to social media on Friday to show the world that he was preparing for his return.
Taylor posted a video of himself, in the Colts facility, running a route, with the simple caption: “loading.” The short, four-second clip generated a lot of excitement, and questions, from fans.
Jonathan Taylor shares training footage from Colts facility
Taylor appears to be healthy, which is the most exciting thing about the video. The other thing that excited fans is the fact that he’s actually in Indy’s facility. Whether or not Taylor has been at the team’s facility has been a big mystery throughout this entire ordeal. However, ESPN’s Stephen Holder reported that Taylor has been rehabbing at the team’s facility each morning.
This isn’t necessarily a sign that the relationship between Taylor and the Colts has been mended, because Taylor has to train and do his rehab in the facility, unless cleared by the organization to rehab elsewhere. But, Taylor is healthy, on the field preparing to make a return, and for now, still on Indianapolis’ roster.
Since he was placed on the PUP list, he’s not eligible to return to action, or even practice with the team, until Week 5, when Indy starts preparing for the Tennessee Titans. That’s when Taylor will return whether he remains with the Colts or not. Until he’s on the field in uniform, there will be speculation about which uniform he’ll be putting on next.