Pats' Taylor To Miss Significant Time with Bum Ankle

NFL News - October 8th, 2009 - Written by John

Fred Taylor has the most carries of any running back for the New England Patriots, but it's his last that has team officials talking. In the waning minutes of last Sunday's 27-21 win over Baltimore, Taylor came off limping and reaching for his ankle. He missed the last two practices because of the soreness, and it was announced Thursday that he would now miss a majority of the season.

His injured right ankle will call for surgery, ESPN reported, although he will likely be able to return at some point. He is the team's leading rusher and the only one on the roster with a 100-yard game to his name. That came two weeks ago when he picked up 105 on 21 carries. It moved him into 15th place on the all-time rushing list, past John Riggins, after spending the majority of his career with Jacksonville.

He came to New England to finally be a part of a winner and voluntarily surrendered many carries he would've gotten alongside Maurice Jones-Drew in Jacksonville. But he came into a much more cluttered backfield that was engineered for just such an injury. Taylor has a history of ailments, as does Laurence Maroney, and the Patriots elected to retain five running backs on their roster were one of them to go down. He has the most carries on the team (45) as a platoon with Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris; none of whom have more than 27 carries.

And now, New England's decision seems to have merit and will keep them from having to scour the free agent market. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who was good in the preseason, will be activated for his second game of the year.

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