Colts' Jonathan Taylor Won't Play vs. Broncos with Ankle Injury

The Indianapolis Colts will be without superstar running back Jonathan Taylor for Thursday night's game against the Denver Broncos.

According to ESPN's Field Yates, the Colts ruled Taylor out Wednesday because of an ankle injury.

Taylor suffered the injury during a Week 4 loss to the Tennessee Titans that left his immediate status up in the air, although NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported "scans came back clean."

The 23-year-old has been durable in the early portion of his career, playing 15 games as a rookie in 2020 and all 17 games last season.

Taylor was arguably the league's top player in 2021 and led the NFL in carries (332), rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18) and rushing yards per game (106.5) while adding 40 catches for 360 yards and two touchdowns in the aerial attack.

The Wisconsin product, who is the type of player who is nearly impossible to replace, has followed that up with 328 yards and one touchdown on the ground, and nine receptions for 44 yards in four games this season.

While Taylor's numbers are down significantly this season compared to 2021, he will still be sorely missed by the 1-2-1 Colts in what has the feel of a must-win game.

With Taylor on the shelf for Week 5, the Colts will lean heavily on backup Nyheim Hines, who has mostly thrived as a pass-catcher out of the backfield during his career, catching 63 balls in both 2018 and 2020.

In four games this season, Hines has rushed just eight times for 11 yards, but he has 17 receptions for 113 yards.