Colts’ Jonathan Taylor expected back with team this week, but Pro Bowl RB still wants to be traded, per report

Jonathan Taylor wants nothing more to do with the Indianapolis Colts. But the star running back is expected to rejoin the team at training camp in the coming days, coach Shane Steichen told ESPN, even while seeking a trade out of town.

“He should be back this week,” Steichen said of Taylor. “Do I know the exact date he’ll be back? No, but he should be back.”

Taylor initially reported to training camp but did not take the field while on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, recovering from offseason ankle surgery. Sometime last week, Taylor left team facilities to continue rehab out of state, per Stephen Holder, amid concerns over the Colts’ medical management.

Before camp, Holder previously reported, the Colts requested that Taylor report early for a medical assessment, but the former All-Pro “viewed the request warily,” believing it to be “part of an effort to pressure him” into returning to the field. When he did report, Taylor allegedly complained of back and hamstring pain, adding to the Colts’ concerns, though Taylor has publicly disputed this.

The running back remains on PUP and intends to practice when he’s fully healthy, per Holder, but his feud with Colts brass appears far from over. Team owner Jim Irsay, who’s downplayed Taylor’s value and spearheaded a refusal by the club to negotiate a long-term contract with the running back, has also indicated he won’t honor Taylor’s private requests to be traded.

In the wake of ESPN’s reporting about Taylor’s anticipated return to camp, Irsay took to Twitter with a potentially related message: “Most things I worry about … never happen anyway.”

With Taylor absent and backup Zack Moss injured, the Colts have leaned on reserves Deon Jackson, Evan Hull, Jake Funk and recent veteran addition Kenyan Drake in the backfield.