The saga between the Indianapolis Colts and star running back Jonathan Taylor continues into the final week of the preseason, but owner Jim Irsay is hoping calmer waters are ahead.
Taylor is expected to return and travel with the team to Philadelphia following his second excused absence from training camp (this due to a personal matter), but he remains on the PUP list as he continues his rehab from offseason ankle surgery.
In the middle of a contract dispute and trade request that reportedly still stands, Taylor’s future with the team remains cloudy. Irsay said during the broadcast of the second preseason game Saturday night that they hope to come to a resolution, but he also made it clear where he stands.
“We’re really looking forward to him to playing his way into being the Jonathan Taylor he was,” Irsay said. “These days, you hope you have less contractual problems because the way the CBA is and they work a lot of things through. But you have them, and that’s what I know (general manager) Chris Ballard is going to work hard on and try to get the waters as calm as they can and go forward.”
It’s pretty clear the Colts still have no intention of making Taylor one of the highest-paid running backs in the NFL coming off his ankle injury. How much of this ankle issue is tied to his current contract isn’t clear but if it truly is still rehabbing, the Colts aren’t going to pony up a new contract.
Nonetheless, Irsay made sure to rave about Taylor and his family even despite what may seem like a rift between the two sides.
“I know these things are always difficult. I respect any time people are, they’re tiring to fight for their position for their families and all those things,” Irsay said. “And we’re really excited to have him, and we want to do everything we can to support him and embrace him as a Colt, because he’s a great young man. I can’t say enough about him and his family.”
General manager Chris Ballard echoed those sentiments earlier in the week to SiriusXM NFL, stating that they love Taylor as a person and a player, but that they also need to get him healthy before anything happens.
So much is likely happening behind closed doors that it’s difficult to get a read on what the future looks like from the outside.
The Colts expect Taylor to practice whenever he’s medically cleared from the PUP list, and that’s likely going to happen without a new contract in place for the 24-year-old.
We’ll see what happens as the regular season approaches as this saga is expected to continue at least for a few more weeks.