Colts RB Jonathan Taylor shoots down rumors of troubling injury

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor set the record straight about his injury history in a damning tweet on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor wants the league to know he’s not damaged goods. After formally requesting a trade out of Indy this weekend, Taylor’s running back history started to get dissected by the NFL media.

Among Taylor’s decorated listed accomplishments, some news outlets, including ESPN, said that Taylor reported “back pain” during his pre-training camp physical this summer. On Sunday, Taylor fired back a reply.

The Colts running back shared in a tweet that he “never had a back pain” nor did he ever report back pain. He questions the “sources” who leaked this information but doesn’t name-drop any outlet in particular.

What started as a suspect meeting with owner Jim Irsay in a bus ended with Taylor publicly requesting a trade, and it seems like things are only going south for Taylor and the Colts’ fractured relationship.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor refutes reports of his back pain

As stated in ESPN’s Stephen Holder’s article, the Colts were considering whether to place Taylor on the non-football injury list for the aforementioned back injury, which could result in Indy withholding his salary for 2023.

Here are Holder’s exact words about Taylor’s back pain:

"Taylor failed his physical, the source said, because of a combination of a previous ankle injury for which surgery was performed earlier this year and the back injury. The team’s medical staff had not previously discussed a back issue with Taylor, and the Colts were unaware of the problem until Taylor reported on Tuesday, the source said."

Per the article, Taylor’s alleged back injury was not sustained while playing for the team.

Taylor’s health concerns aside, the 24-year-old back still faces an uphill battle in his attempt to force his way out of Indy. The only NFL teams who would feasibly be interested in Taylor are those in need of a starting running back and who are also willing to give up a chunk of draft capital. On top of that, Taylor is likely looking for a long-term deal at least worth more than the franchise tag values of 2023 and 2024.

Irsay hasn’t changed his stance on not trading Taylor, either. Expect more drama to come.