Trent Taylor was Mr. Reliable last year, more so when Jimmy Garoppolo took over. Whenever third down came up and the 49ers needed a play, all Kyle Shanahan had to do was call Taylor’s number. Punt returns, catches, it all led to 430 yards and two touchdowns in 2017.
Then he had back surgery and hasn’t been quite the same.
Taylor has catches, and punts, but throughout OTAs and training camp it was revealed he had back surgery and when Week 1 rolled around and something seemed off. It was revealed Taylor was recovering from back surgery and when the season started, that same back caused issues keeping him out of Week 6 and quite possibly Week 7. Shanahan noted the surgery was “minor,” but it may be something more significant, considering it’s costing Trent Taylor playing time and holding him down.
He’s still on pace to hit his rookie numbers in 2017, provided he doesn’t miss any other games. Going into Week 7 he has 125 yards and one touchdown. One problem though, he’s not a rookie and one would like to see those numbers have a bit of an improvement, even if it’s marginal. Taylor is listed as questionable, which means there’s still a chance he may not play for the second game straight.
For a minor surgery, it might be having some lasting effects on Taylor. One can hope he heals up just fine, but back surgeries, whether major or minor always give an impression of something serious. Given that it’s been lingering around this long, it may be something that will not be going away. The 49ers also drafted two more wide receivers in Dante Pettis and Richie James in the 2018 NFL draft, which may indicate they fear it could hang around as well.
Maybe this has already impacted Taylor’s once promising career. It’s a shame if that’s the case, because Taylor was once looked at as the 49ers’ Wes Welker. If it took back surgery after his rookie season to put an end to that, well, that’s bad luck.
Do you think Taylor’s career has been impacted by this back surgery?