The latest chapter in the Jonathan Taylor saga has begun. The Colts have granted the All-Pro running back permission to seek a trade, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
Indianapolis had initially resisted, with Jim Irsay emphatically insisting the team was not dealing the 2021 rushing champion. But those comments came weeks ago. And rumblings of some in the organization being open to such a move have since come out. With no resolution in sight, the Colts are following the Chargers’ lead by letting their standout running back explore the market. This situation is far more contentious than the Austin Ekeler-Bolts backdrop, however, with Taylor leaving Colts camp on multiple occasions amid this standoff.
Taylor’s agent has begun calling teams, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Interest is believed to exist, but a team that acquires Taylor will both need to part with notable compensation and authorize an upper-crust extension. The latter component has given teams pause, ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini tweets. The Colts are seeking a first-round pick or a package of picks for Taylor, ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder reports (on Twitter).
No running back has been traded for a first-round pick since the Colts surrendered one for Trent Richardson in 2013, though Christian McCaffrey fetched second-, third-, fourth-and fifth-rounders last fall. The Colts are expected to want more than what the Panthers landed for McCaffrey, per Rapoport.
While the Colts made the disastrous Richardson trade, they did not extend him upon doing so. They were unable to, since the ex-Browns draftee was in his second season. McCaffrey also remains on his Panthers-constructed deal. For high-profile trade-and-extend sequences involving a running back, going back to 2015 (LeSean McCoy, Bills), 2004 (Clinton Portis, Washington) or 1999 (Marshall Faulk, Rams) is necessary. This is not widely explored modern terrain.
The Colts have tabled extension talks with Taylor, who has taken a long time to recover from the ankle injury that forced him to miss six games last season. Taylor, 24, underwent surgery in February but remains on the Colts’ active/PUP list. Of course, the fourth-year back has also been connected to using this injury as a way to stage a hold-in. Then again, Taylor still dealing with ankle pain this long after a minor surgery will only hurt his trade market. This trade news also comes after Shane Steichen said (via Holder) Taylor would travel with the team to Philadelphia for joint practices this week.
The Dolphins have emerged as an interested party. They are planning to explore the Taylor market, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson tweets. This should not be surprising, given Miami’s path at running back this offseason. The Dolphins discussed Dalvin Cook with the Vikings and D’Andre Swift with the Lions. They may or may not have reached out to the Giants about Saquon Barkley. After the Jets landed Cook, the Dolphins will look into Taylor. While the Dolphins did not want to give Cook $7MM ahead of his age-28 season, Taylor — who is heading into his age-24 campaign — is a more valuable asset.
Since Irsay made his comments about the Colts’ lack of interest in trading Taylor, the irked RB left training camp for the purposes of additional injury rehab. At least, that was the reported reason. Shortly after returning to the facility, Taylor left again due to a personal matter. Having hired a new agent this offseason, Taylor has operated differently with the Colts. The contract-year back went from wishing to retire as a Colt to requesting a trade in a matter of months.
The running back market cratering looks to have been the tipping point for Taylor, who is surely seeking to avoid playing out his rookie deal and being hit with a 2024 franchise tag. The Colts’ efforts since this impasse became public have not helped matters.
GM Chris Ballard pointed to the market when addressing Taylor’s future with the team, and Irsay — as he has increasingly done over the past two offseasons — got involved. The outspoken owner took a shot at running backs for holding meetings involving the state of their position. After a one-on-one meeting with Taylor, Irsay made the comment about not trading the former second-round pick. A rumor then emerged about the Colts considering Taylor being shifted from the PUP list to the NFI list, which would put his $4.3MM 2023 base salary at risk. The Colts have not followed through with that move, which would undoubtedly be challenged due to Taylor having denied mentioning any injury beyond the ankle issue.
Despite leading the NFL in touchdowns in each of the past two seasons and bringing elite receiving chops to the table, Ekeler was not believed to have generated much trade interest. This ultimately led to the Bolts reeling Ekeler back in with a low-level incentive package. Taylor is four years younger, but the Ekeler market may be telling here.
The Colts would obviously be a better team with Taylor, as they have Zack Moss rehabbing a broken arm and only have Kenyan Drake, Deon Jackson and fifth-round rookie Evan Hull as notable options. But this relationship has deteriorated rapidly. The Colts would have the option of franchise-tagging Taylor on what will again be a low number in 2024, but given recent events, how eager will the team be to recoup a prime asset and end this drama?
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