Anthony Richardson talked to the press today and was smiling a little bigger than normal. This was confusing as I saw the first 20 seconds of the video with no audio, but after having the chance to listen, the smile was inspired by the topic of Jonathan Taylor’s return.
On 10/2, Jonathan Taylor was officially elevated from the PUP list to the active roster, but there were still plenty of questions. We heard everything from “Does he still want to be traded?” to “Has he even spoken to the front office?” to “Will he talk to the media?”. Many of those questions were answered in a surprise statement from Shane Steichen during a presser yesterday. One of the most telling statements from Coach Steichen was “The Conversation I’ve had with him were great” and “He’s excited to get back with his teammates”.
Those statements were completely contradictory to everything we heard from social media, sports media, and overly optimistic Miami Dolphins fans. We’ve heard for 4 months that Jonathan Taylor wanted a trade, didn’t want to play for the Colts, and we would never see him in a Colts Uniform ever again. Fast Forward to now and Taylor has taken his first walkthrough with the team and the Colts fanbase has gone from not wanting to deal with the drama of potentially losing Taylor for good to envisioning an offense that features the electric Rookie Quarterback in Anthony Richardson with the explosive combination of power and speed in Jonathan Taylor.
One very interesting aspect of this is whether Jonathan Taylor bought into what he’s seen happen over the last 4 weeks. The last time he was healthy 1 year ago this time and playing in a bland, predictable, analytics-driven offense. Shane Steichen’s offense is faster, more creative, and has Zach Moss as a Top 10 Running Back in the league so far this season. If the continued evolution and progress of this offense has proven anything, it’s shown Jonathan Taylor that he could potentially have the type of comeback year that will demand a lucrative contract, in Indy or elsewhere.
One interesting thing to watch once Taylor is back is how much faster the offense will move. Steichen’s offense is up-tempo, fast-paced, and frequently unpredictable but having Taylor inserted into an already shifty offense will change the way teams have to play defense.
Jonathan Taylor has the chance to win back the hearts of the Colts fanbase when he suits back up to play soon. We still have no word on whether or not he’ll be playing this Sunday versus the Tennessee Titans but playing your first home game of the season versus a division rival should make the most turbulent era of the J.T. saga nothing more than a distant memory.
