Amid reports suggesting that veteran running back Fred Taylor’s first season with the Patriots might be over after only four games, Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald reports that Taylor still believes he’ll play in 2009.
Per Rapoport, Taylor already has undergone surgery on the injured right ankle -- a two-hour procedure after which Taylor drove himself home.
Unless there’s a bullet (or a pencil) with Fred Taylor’s teeth marks embedded deep within it, it’s hard to imagine that he would have had clearance to drive after a lengthy surgical procedure.
[UPDATE: Michael C. Wright of the Florida Times-Union, who covered Taylor when he played for the Jaguars, reports that Taylor did not drive himself home. Maybe Cedric Griffin did.]
Also, Taylor thought he had a high ankle sprain, but the damage turned out to be more extensive.
When and if he’ll be back won’t be known for a while. And that’s not good news for the Patriots, given that Taylor was the team’s leading rusher.