Jonathan Taylor to sit out all of Colts preseason, passing the backfield to Nyheim Hines

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - Jonathan Taylor had his helmet with the blue horseshoe strapped up and his full white uniform on as he went through warmups in Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. He was back on the field where he played the greatest game of his life last November, one of the finest in NFL history, when he rushed for five touchdowns through the rain to throttle the Bills.

But there would be no encore. This is only preseason, and life as a reigning rushing champion means skipping that sometimes.

In Taylor's case, he'll be skipping the entire preseason slate.

"That's really what Chris (Ballard) and I talked about. I can't see that changing for any reason," Colts coach Frank Reich said.

It goes to show the status Taylor has risen to on his own team, as he was the only starter the Colts held out of Saturday's 27-24 loss to the Bills in the preseason opener. They played Matt Ryan and their other five healthy All-Pro players from last season, in addition to newly acquired Pro Bowlers Yannick Ngakoue and Stephon Gilmore, as well as players plagued by injuries in the past such as Parris Campbell and Julian Blackmon.

"We've got to do that to get ready to play winning football," Reich said. "You just can't play scared."

Benching Taylor for the preseason isn't about being scared, exactly. The Colts just don't see the purpose. They're playing starters mostly to sync them up with a new starting quarterback and new defensive scheme, or to new starters around them, but Taylor is a singular identity at this point. He also happens to play the most injury-prone position.

So, he stood without a helmet on the sideline Saturday as Nyheim Hines lined up in the backfield and became the new bell-cow for a quarter. Hines touched the ball on nine of the Colts' first 12 plays, with a mix of runs up the middle and passes to the flats.

For a player who describes himself as "3-in-1" for his equal mix of rushing, receiving and returning, Saturday's role was something new.

"I was trying to impersonate my best Jonathan Taylor on some of those runs," he said with a smile.

INSIDER: When Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines are on field together, Colts offense is lethal

When informed in the locker room that Taylor would not be playing any of the preseason games, Hines began to warm up his shoulders.

"Looks like I might as well get ready, get in the cold tub and ice up," he said.

Hines prides himself on doing whatever the Colts ask of him, a role that was always going to expand with Ryan, who does much of his work with pre-snap motion and who completed 52 passes to a running back in Cordarrelle Patterson in Atlanta last season.

But now, it means taking the preseason carries so the offense can still function as a first-team unit, and so that Taylor doesn't have to.

The plan is to rest starters for next Saturday's game against the Lions, since they'll practice two days in joint sessions against Detroit. Taylor will take part in those joint days, and the Colts will allow that physicality to get him ready instead of needing to do it in the preseason.

The starters will play again in the third preseason game against the Buccaneers, which they're treating as the dress rehearsal. Taylor will again be the one who does not play. That means Hines will, and with opportunity this time of year comes injury risk, especially for a running back who measures 5 feet 9 inches and 196 pounds.

"Protect myself. Get out of the way like I always do," Hines said of his plan. "I don't think I play any different in the preseason than I do in the regular season. You pray to the lord for protection, and after that, you have to do everything on your end like take care of your body, massages, eat right.

"Whenever they ask me to play, I'll go play. I love playing football, so it's pretty easy to do."

Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Jonathan Taylor to sit out all preseason games