What to Know About Colts’ Backup Running Backs With Jonathan Taylor Out

With its star starting the season on the PUP list, here’s whose left in the Indianapolis backfield.

The Colts will start the season with Jonathan Taylor on the physically unable to perform list, insinuating that the team will not trade the running back ahead of franchise’s Week 1 matchup on Sept. 10 against the Jaguars, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

With Taylor on the list, he will miss the first four games of the regular season, which include matchups against Jacksonville, the Texans, Ravens and the Rams. Taylor will be eligible to return for the Colts’ AFC South clash against the Titans in Week 5.

The Colts had until 4 p.m. ET to determine if they wanted to trade Taylor or keep him on the PUP list. Rapoport reported that the franchise decided to keep Taylor because it did not secure a sustainable trade offer for the 24-year-old. Even more, the former Wisconsin star is still recuperating from offseason ankle surgery.

With Taylor’s absence from the lineup, here’s where the Colts running back situation stands.

Indianapolis’s depth chart at running back to start the season consists of Zack Moss, Deon Jackson and Evan Hull. 

Moss has played 39 games under his belt over his three seasons in the NFL.  The 25-year-old played two full seasons with the Bills before Buffalo traded him in November to Indianapolis in exchange for Nyheim Hines. When Taylor suffered his injury, Moss became the lead back for the Colts.

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After the trade, Moss played in eight games and started three, recording 365 yards on the ground and one touchdown while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. For the entire 2022 season, Moss appeared in 13 games and rushed for 456 yards and one touchdown.

On July 31, the 25-year-old broke his arm during practice with the team and was expected to miss four to six weeks. Considering the timeline, Moss could potentially return to the Colts lineup ahead of their Week 2 matchup against Houston.

As for Jackson, he went undrafted in 2021 after rushing for more than 2,200 yards and 18 touchdowns at Duke. In two seasons in the NFL, the former Blue Devil has appeared in 25 games, totaling 267 yards on the ground and two touchdowns while averaging 3.2 yards per carry.

Jackson earned his first NFL start last season in Week 6 against Jacksonville, recording one touchdown on the ground along with 121 yards from scrimmage.

The Colts drafted Hull in the fifth round of this year’s draft after a four-year college career at Northwestern. In 35 games with the Wildcats, Hull ran for 2,417 yards on 488 carries and 18 touchdowns. He also had 94 receptions for 851 yards and four touchdowns

While all three running backs have shown they can run the ball effectively at different levels, none of them generate Taylor’s production when he’s fully healthy. But, amid Taylor’s placement on the PUP list and he and the franchise’s failure to reach a long-term extension, one of the remaining three will be the primary back to start the season.

Taylor is entering the last year of his rookie contract and could possibly enter free agency in the 2024 offseason.