Healthy Taylor back at practice with the Colts
A healthy Jonathan Taylor explained Thursday how happy he is to be practicing again with the Indianapolis Colts.
He wouldn’t discuss the ugly contract dispute he’s had with the team.
In his first public comments since June, the All-Pro running back stood at the podium, smiled, and mostly sidestepped questions about his relationship with the Colts and his future with the team.
“I don’t think it matters if I’m saying committed or not because I’m here,” he said. “If somebody wasn’t committed, they wouldn’t be here. Right now, I’m here and my No. 1 goal is really to attack this first practice. It’s been over 290 days, I believe. When you’re not doing what you love, you’re going to notice it, so my main goal has been to attack this first day.”
Taylor missed all of the team’s offseason workouts while rehabbing from ankle surgery and all of training camp after going on the physically unable to perform list because of lingering pain. Then in late August, one day after keeping Taylor on the PUP list to start the regular season, general manager Chris
Ballard reiterated he wouldn’t put Taylor or anyone else on the field with an injury.
The decision gave Taylor four additional weeks to work his way back to full health.
Now, he insists, he’s ready. “I’ve been in communication with my teammates the whole time I’ve been here rehabbing” Taylor said. “So the day has finally come for me to hit the field. It’s an awesome feeling when you’ve been working so hard to get to a certain point.”
But is he happy in Indianapolis?
When Taylor last spoke publicly, he complained about league owners undervaluing running backs in general, citing the $10.1 million franchise tag number. It’s the lowest of any position other than kickers or punters.
At the same time, Taylor lobbied for a contract extension before heading into the final year of his rookie deal. The dispute lingered into training camp where Taylor’s agent and Colts owner Jim Irsay engaged in a social media spat. Irsay met with Taylor for one hour on his bus during a training camp practice. Taylor made a subsequent trade request and finally the Colts gave Taylor permission to find a trade partner.
The Colts could keep Taylor this season and at least two more years by using the franchise tag.
“I’m not going to get into any contract stuff,” Taylor said. “This is a big day for me, to go back out there and do what I love.”
The other big question is whether Taylor will play Sunday when the Colts host Tennessee.
“I fully expect it,” Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. But [he’s an] elite back in this league. If he’s available, I imagine he’s going to play.”
Neal apologizes
Second year right tackle Evan Neal apologized to Giants fans for calling them fair-weathered because they booed his performance Monday night.
“I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am,” Neal wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I let my frustrations in my play and desire to get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyone’s job and I deeply regret the things I said.”
Neal also said he apologized to his teammates for being a distraction in a season in which the Giants (1-3) have failed to live up to expectations.
Neal said he was booed by fans at MetLife Stadium Monday during a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks. The Giants allowed 11 sacks in the game.
On Wednesday, Neal called those fans fair-weather. He then went a step too far.
“A lot of fans are bandwagoners. I mean, I get it: They want to see us perform well. And I respect all of that. But no one wants us to perform well more than we do,” the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft said.
Neal didn’t stop there.
“Why would a lion concern himself with the opinion of a sheep?” he said. “The person that’s commenting on my performance, what does he do? Flip hot dogs and hamburgers somewhere?”
Coach Brian Daboll said he spoke with Neal on Thursday and told him he can’t let fans comments get the best of him.
“It’s a humbling league,” Daboll said. “Whether you are winning a few games and then lose a few games or you lose early, be consistent in your approach to handle things the right way. We had a slip-up.”
Butkus dead at 80
Dick Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, died at the age of 80, the team announced. Butkus’s family confirmed that he died in his sleep overnight at his home in Malibu, Calif. Butkus was a first-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. Obituary, C11 . . . Raiders wide receiver Davante
Adams did not practice Thursday because of a shoulder injury, but he spoke with reporters afterward, a strong indication he will play on Monday night against his former team, the Packers. “It’s getting better every day,” Adams said. “I’ve got to keep working at it.”