Colts HC Shane Steichen breaks silence on Jonathan Taylor’s status

There appears to be a standoff between Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and the team’s star running back Jonathan Taylor.

After meeting with Irsay over the weekend, several reports indicated that the 24-year-old Taylor asked to be traded from the Colts — a request Irsay immediately shut down. As the tension rises between Taylor, who’s one year removed from leading the NFL in rushing, and the Colts, head coach Shane Steichen gave an unpromising update on Taylor’s status.

“Right now he’s on this football team,” Steichen added, via Joel Erickson of the Indy Star. “And when the medical staff clears him, he’ll play” 

Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan also reported that Steichen disclosed he and the team have spoken to Taylor since news broke about Irsay’s comments and his subsequent trade request.

“We’ve had private conversations and I’ll keep those private, but he’s here every single day,” he said.

While Taylor’s contract status has certainly been front and center during the Colts’ first week of training camp, it’s not the only noise that’s surrounded the fourth-year running back.

ESPN’s Stephen Holder reported on Sunday that Taylor complained of back pain during his pre-training camp physical and that Indy was considering placing him on the non-football injury list and possibly withholding his salary.

Taylor disputed Holder’s report about having a back injury.