The Indianapolis Colts released their final injury report ahead of their Week 8 matchup with the Houston Texans and not listed with an injury designation is running back Jonathan Taylor.
Or in another way of putting it, Taylor is a full-go for Sunday’s game.
Taylor returned to practice this week for the first time since sustaining a high-ankle sprain late in the Colts’ Week 4 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He would then miss the next three games.
At practice this week, Taylor was limited on Wednesday but a full participant on Thursday and Friday. Taylor said before Thursday’s practice that he wanted to push things to see how he felt and his ankle obviously responded well to it.
Without Taylor, the Colts’ run game has struggled to find consistent traction–although the return of Anthony Richardson last week did provide a spark.
Prior to the injury, Taylor ranked top five among running backs in total rushing yards and was among the best in generating explosive runs.
Having Taylor back in the mix brings added big play ability to the run game, but his presence will open up opportunities for others as well.
For one, the combination of Taylor and Richardson in the backfield together is a real stressor for opposing defenses who can’t be overly aggressive and have to defend sidelined to sideline. In addition to that, a strong run game keeps the offense ahead of the sticks, which takes some of the burden off the passing game.
In Week 1 against the Texans, Taylor carried the ball 16 times and totaled only 48 yards with a touchdown.