Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is still working his way through rehabbing from an ankle procedure he underwent in January, and general manager Chris Ballard said that’s the priority at the moment.
While Taylor has requested a trade in the middle of a contract dispute, he has been on the PUP list since the start of training camp. He even spent a week away from the team getting further treatment on his ankle.
Taylor wants a new deal or a trade, but Ballard made it clear nothing is going to happen until he gets healthy.
“Look, I think the world of Jonathan. He’s been a great Colt, a great player for the Colts. Unfortunately, last year he got hurt early in the season, was dinged up all year, fought through it until he finally got to the point where he had to have this surgery,” Ballard told SiriusXM NFL on Tuesday. “Now, he’s finishing his rehab process. Hopefully, as we move forward here, we’ll get him back, but we need to get him 100% healthy before we do anything.”
How much of his rehab is related to the contract hold-in remains to be seen, and we may never get a true answer on that. But if Taylor truly is still rehabbing his ankle, the Colts aren’t going to hand out a massive extension until they know he’s fully healthy.
With only two preseason games remaining and less than a month until the regular season, this situation will continue to be monitored as one of the biggest storylines surrounding the team.