Report: Timeline for Jonathan Taylor Becomes Clearer

The Indianapolis Colts got used to being without star running back Jonathan Taylor when he sat out the first four weeks of the season recovering from an ankle injury, and they're going to have to adapt to his absence once again after undergoing a procedure to fix a thumb injury this week.

Taylor injured the thumb on his right hand last week in the Colts' 27-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he played through it. However, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, "surgery was the only answer and not a choice."

"On Wednesday, hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles operated on Taylor, repairing the torn UCL in his thumb," Rapoport wrote.

Taylor will now miss a projected three to five weeks.

"The ligament tore off the base of the thumb and flipped on top of the tendon, sources say," Rapoport explained as to why surgery was a necessity. "Once that happens, the only way to avoid a loose tendon in the future is to have surgery to tuck the ligament back under the tendon so it can function. Immediate surgery was a necessity."

"Indy left the door open for him (Taylor) to return before four weeks by not placing him on injured reserve," Rapoport said. "And Taylor was already back with the team the day after surgery."

Despite not going on IR, Taylor now is in jeopardy of being out for the remainder of the regular season, as contests against the Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders, and Houston Texans remain over the final six weeks of the season, which includes this Sunday.

In seven games this season, Taylor has carried the ball 100 times for 414 yards (4.1 avg.) and 4 touchdowns to go with 16 receptions for 137 yards (8.6 avg.) and 1 touchdown.

Taylor will be replaced by Zack Moss, who was among the NFL's top five leading rushers in yardage through the first 10 weeks of the season.