Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson will start Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, while Colts starting running back Jonathan Taylor will miss his third straight game, coach Shane Steichen said Friday.
Richardson will return after a two-game absence due to a right oblique injury he sustained in the first quarter of the Colts’ Week 4 win against the Steelers. Veteran backup Joe Flacco started in place of Richardson as the Colts went 1-1 while Richardson was sidelined.
Flacco has thrown seven touchdowns against one interception this season, while Richardson has thrown three touchdowns against six picks. However, Steichen once again dismissed the notion of a QB controversy in Indianapolis.
“Obviously, Flacco’s a really good player (and) been playing good ball for us,” Steichen said earlier this week. “But when Anthony’s healthy, he’s our quarterback.”
Taylor suffered a right high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of Indianapolis’ Week 4 matchup with Pittsburgh. He has not played or even practiced since. After weeks of downplaying the severity of his injury, Taylor was a bit more candid Thursday, saying that he knows a high ankle sprain usually means a four-to-six-week recovery timeline but his goal was to come back sooner.
Asked if injured reserve was considered when he initially injured his ankle, Taylor said he didn’t like to “throw that around.” If he had gone on IR, Taylor would’ve automatically missed Indianapolis’ next four games.
“Being on PUP (physically unable to perform list) last year, (IR is) definitely not a place you want to be, if you don’t have to be there,” Taylor said. “If you feel as though like, ‘Hey, I feel like with the training staff, we can potentially avoid that,’ then that’s always a positive.”
#Colts RB Jonathan Taylor on practicing: “I still gotta do some work … to see if we can even attempt to go out there …”
On his recovery: “I know high ankles are usually 4-6 (weeks), but me … I’m like, ‘Man, there’s no way.’”
On IR: “I never like to throw that around …” pic.twitter.com/0tHrYAp4lo
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 17, 2024
Taylor, who won the league rushing title in 2021, did not miss a game due to injury through his first two years in the NFL (one absence in 2020 due to COVID-19). He has missed 16 games due to injury over the last three years.
Trey Sermon has started in Taylor’s place the last two weeks, but he’s totaled just 67 yards on 28 carries (2.4 yards per carry) with one touchdown. Sermon has also been nursing a knee injury this week, which could give way for third-stringer Tyler Goodson to take on a bigger workload against the Dolphins. Goodson registered eight carries for 51 yards (6.3 yards per carry) last week at Tennessee.
Known for his speed, Goodson also displayed his power against the Titans and said he’d be ready to “handle business” again on Sunday.
“I think I’ve gotten better, especially at finishing runs,” Goodson said. “… If you run in there and go in soft, a defensive player is gonna have that mental edge on you like, ‘He’s running soft, so I can really hit this man.’ But I try to do everything I can just to be as physical as possible so people know that it ain’t nothing soft over here.”
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(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
