Patriots rushing leader Fred Taylor misses practice, may need right ankle surgery

Pats rushing leader Taylor may need ankle surgery

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Oft-injured running back Fred Taylor is sidelined again and could need surgery on his right ankle after leading the New England Patriots in rushing this season.

Taylor is expected to miss Sunday’s game at the Denver Broncos after sitting out his second straight day of practice Thursday amid an ESPN.com report that he needs surgery. He would play again this season unless there are complications, the report said.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said he was not aware that Taylor needs surgery. Taylor’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, did not respond to a phone call and e-mail from the Associated Press.

Taylor, in his first season with New England after spending 11 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was hurt on his final carry of Sunday’s 27-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens, a 3-yard run with 5:09 left in the game. He limped off the field.

Taylor finished that game with a team-high 25 yards on seven carries one week after gaining 105 yards on 21 attempts in a 26-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

He has 201 yards on 45 carries as part of a four-man backfield rotation with Sammy Morris, Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk. Another running back, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, has been inactive for three of the Patriots’ four games but could play Sunday.

The Patriots signed Taylor in the offseason as a free agent after he and Maurice Jones-Drew shared time with Jacksonville. On the first day of training camp July 30, Taylor discussed his past injuries.

“I really never worried about the naysayers,” he said. “I used it as motivation. When I would go behind closed doors, I’d work a little harder, thinking that they called me Fragile Fred. I knew I was never fragile. I had a little bit of misfortune, that’s about it.”

Taylor, 33, missed one game as a rookie in 1998 with a shoulder injury. Then he missed six in 1999 (hamstring), three in 2000 (knee), the last 14 in 2001 (groin), the last two in 2004 (knee), five in 2005 (ankle), one in 2006 (hamstring) and the last three in 2008 (thumb).

Still, he rushed for more than 1,100 yards in seven of his 11 seasons and is 15th in NFL history with 11,472 yards.

Two other key Patriots, wide receiver Randy Moss and linebacker Adalius Thomas, missed practice Thursday, but the team said their absences were not related to injuries.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo, last year’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, had limited participation in practice Thursday after missing the last three games with strained ligaments in his right knee. He returned to practice last week.