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Things are officially ugly between the Indianapolis Colts and superstar running back Jonathan Taylor.
Indy selected Taylor in the second round of 2020 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin and he’s excelled in his three seasons since entering the league.
Taylor rushed for 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns and as rookie before taking a big leap in 2021, leading the league in rushing with 1,811 and rushing touchdowns with 18.
But he also led the league in attempts. And those attempts took a toll. Taylor played just 11 games in 2022 due to injury and was down to 4.5 yards per carry after averaging 5.5 the year prior.
Now it’s time for the Colts to pay their start back and, well, we’ve all seen how that goes.
Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay is seemingly ready to go to extreme lengths not to pay Taylor.
“If I die tonight and Jonathan Taylor is out of the league, no one’s gonna miss us,” Irsay said, per The Athletic. “The league goes on. We know that. The National Football (League) rolls on. It doesn’t matter who comes and who goes, and it’s a privilege to be a part of it.”
The Colts proved as much on Sunday went they seemingly went to extreme measures to withhold pay from Taylor.
“Jonathan Taylor, who has requested a trade, reported back pain during his pre-training camp physical that was deemed to be from an injury that was not sustained while playing for Indianapolis,” ESPN’s Stephen Holder reported. “The situation now has the team considering whether to place Taylor on the non-football injury list, which could result in Indianapolis withholding his salary.”
Taylor, however, called BS.
1.) Never had a back pain.
2.) Never reported back pain.
Not sure who “sources” are, but find new ones 🤔
— Jonathan Taylor (@JayT23) July 31, 2023
He sent out a tweet late Sunday night claiming that he both never had and never reported back pain.
Somebody isn’t telling the truth. And the truth is going to come out sooner or later.