The Jonathan Taylor drama has quieted down a bit since the start of the season, but by no means does that mean it isn’t there. After failing to both 1) reach a long-term agreement with Taylor and 2) find a viable trade partner willing to meet their price for Taylor, the Colts placed him on the physically unable to perform list, where he remains today. After the constant drama and failure to navigate their way out of it, is Indianapolis willing to lower its asking price? ESPN’s Stephen Holder thinks so.
The team’s relationship with Taylor seems fractured beyond repair. The Colts made it very clear that they were not willing to commit to Taylor long-term. And, if they choose to utilize the franchise tag on Taylor after the season to keep him from hitting free agency, it’s hard to see any situation where the relationship is repaired. If they remain uncommitted to signing the former All-Pro to a long-term contract, trading Taylor seems like the best option.
Seemingly, Taylor’s pure talent should be enough to convince the Colts to hold on to him for the long-term. Especially considering what they’ve been working with in his absence. In Week 1, while Zack Moss continued recovering from a broken arm, Indianapolis was forced to turn to a combination of Deon Jackson, Evan Hull, and Jake Funk. The three combined for 25 rushing yards on 16 carries for zero touchdowns and two lost fumbles. Moss made his debut in Week 2, during which he would be the only running back to see snaps on offense, playing 56 of the team’s 57 offensive snaps.
This sends a clear message about the team’s confidence in its depth at the position. The Colts were completely dependent on Moss with Taylor still out, and while it’s nice to be able to depend on Moss and have him deliver, they would likely prefer to have multiple options they can trust. Seeing how little the team feels they can trust their current running backs room, one might think their eyes would be opened to the benefits of signing Taylor long-term. Of course, one might think that a 2021 rushing title and a career 5.1 yards per carry might be enough to open their eyes, but here we are.
So, if the Colts want any return on losing Taylor, they’ll need to find a trade partner for the young rusher. Obviously, they need to aim for teams that have the desire and bandwidth to sign Taylor to a long-term deal. Besides that, the asking price has been their biggest concern. The Dolphins and Packers reportedly showed interest in trading for and signing Taylor, but both teams were unable to match the haul that the Indianapolis was requesting. The Packers are also now believed to be out of the running.
Holder reminds that the team’s asking price was a package of picks that amounted to a first-rounder, but he also claims that the Colts would be willing to “settle for something a bit less.” What exactly that means is yet to be determined as the team will still likely continue to play hardball in an effort to avoid giving him away for pennies on the dollar, but if they’re able to lower their expectations, it could open the door for a new team to come in and add Taylor to their stable.
For now, the Colts will hope to see Taylor back on the field after his stint on the PUP list. Past that, there’s still hope that cooler heads prevail, and the two sides can come to an agreement, but a lower asking price for Taylor may lead to the 24-year-old’s inevitable exit.
Door isn’t going to stay open forever Buffalo
Pass. Hard pass.
If you watched last week, the Bills have a solid set of backs and no need to add a malcontent expecting a major payday to the mix. OL depth is a bigger concern.
The real malcontent on the Colts is Irsay.
Raiders defense isn’t very good. Cook and Harris don’t scare any defense. Taylor would be a clear upgrade that defenses have to game plan for.
With what cap space? Spend more at RB and they won’t be able to pay any linemen next year.
Don’t spend on a top RB and get pounded in the playoffs again!
Send Irsay to the nursing home, and let JT play out the season to help AR’s development. If the best picks CMC was worth was a 2nd and third, they’ll be lucky to secure a third with JT.
JT is a cancer. Ship him out!
Him and Minshew to the Jets for a 4 and condition 5th
If that trade includes Minshew, the Colts are going to need a lot more than a fourth.
Thing is, I doubt that the Cook signing leaves any room for Taylor in New York. Rodgers going down also lessens the urgency to acquire pieces, even though they’re still trying to compete. If the above trade happened before Cook was signed, it would have been much more profitable. Indianapolis tried to wait out the interested parties for a better offer-now, they’ve painted themselves into a hole.
So, as said above, Indy decided to wait out potential buyers. They may as stick with that decision now. Honestly, I think that Ballard was hoping to reach an agreement with Taylor to stay, but Irsay really botched that badly and needlessly. Now they’re stuck with a player that doesn’t want to be there and that they won’t get a good value back in a trade. Indy’s best option is almost certainly a Barkley or Jacobs type compromise for one year (which may have been Ballard’s hope at the time of Irsay’s public comments), but this makes it sound like that won’t happen. They may as well sit on him until the deadline and hope for an injury if they can’t trade him now-though their price will certainly have to lower from the ridiculous first round requirement from before. To be honest, that requirement is what indicated to me that Indy had no burning interest in a trade and actually wanted to reach an agreement-but that was before their owner torpedoed those negotiations.
lol ain’t happening. Steichen loves Minshew
Was this at me? I said that Indy wouldn’t be trading him (which is why I said that trade would have to cost more).
No the other guy
Aye aye.
Indy are stupid
You have one of the best RB’s in the league not only that he’s young. You then messed up extension talks that badly he refuses to play for you guys. You then can’t find a trade for him and are now lowering your asking price.
Yet how are your current RBs going without him….
3 guys combined for 25 yards, 0 TDs and 2 fumbles …. Nice
You have 1 good WR in MPJ who’s struggling by himself with a rookie QB that can’t throw the ball.
This team is 2 or 3 moves away from turning into a complete dumpster fire
Agreed. I find it quite hard to blame Ballard, though (I don’t mean to imply that you are, either), when his boss sabotages his negotiations publically…a year after sabotaging his offense with a merry go round of benching/nonbenching demands of different players.
Ballard probably doesn’t have long as the G.M. left, and I’d like to see what he could do on a team without such a hands-on owner. It’d be easier to evaluate his instincts, because I don’t think that he has had much freedom the last two or so years in Indy. The first part of his tenure was pretty good, and Colts looked much more positive. The last two? Not so much.
Ak & Simmons – I’m trying to decide which of you is more stupid, but I can’t seem to delineate all the crap from both of you. Zach Moss had a great week 2 & he wasn’t able to play week 1; so who knows how that would’ve turned out. Richardson can throw, only an idiot would make that statement. Watch the games & see for yourself. Lastly, Irsay didn’t mess up the relationship with Taylor, his agent did & Taylor started his demands, while still under contract. He won’t be traded for mid or late round picks, there is nothing in this article other than writer’s opinions. Taylor is now a cancer; not interested at all in the team or his teammates; only himself.
No worries, no need to pick. I’ll take it.
There’s no way that you’re a Colts fan, I can tell.
I should have clarified that I agree with the main body of his statement, and that I’m not so down on Richardson. I haven’t seen enough of him yet. But no, he hasn’t put anything on film yet to suggest that he is, as it stands right now, a dangerous passer. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a dangerous player, but Richardson right now is not a threat without his legs. Can he grow? Certainly. But not at the moment, no. And, I actually like Alec Pierce, but that’s another discussion.
I know that you know this (stupid people normally aren’t able to read, but as a stupid myself, I could just be being stupid), but Moss was recently injured (and probably still is). He broke his arm. That’s what happens when…oh, you’re smart, you know. And, as a smart person, you should also know that starting an injured player who came back less than two months after breaking his arm means that you should have some depth behind him. As the article and Simmons>Russ pointed out, that depth looks awful at the moment. Maybe that’s why they signed Trey Sermon…? Moss has never been a lone bellcow in his career, as is. He’s operated in a platoon. That’s not to say that he is not a good back; quite the opposite. But if you’re counting on a recently injured bplayer with no history of being a workhorse to single handedly carry your run game with a rookie QB, you’re…stupid (did I use that right? Oh, I’ll never know!).
Sarcasm aside, and in all serious for this next bit: all of that hypothetical musing about the Colts’ current run game has to do with Taylor’s negotiations…which Irsay DID botch. There was no call, at all, for him to speak publically the way that he did regarding the situation. What possible good did that do him, his manager, or the player that they were handling? Here’s the thing, friend-just because that phase of the talking was over does not mean that the two parties were never going to speak again. I don’t know if you know this, but most-nearly all-players have agents. They almost all try to hold up teams for more money. Taylor’s agent demanding more, demanding a trade, or demanding anything is not unique to this situation. Agents make demands-even stupid ones-all the time. What doesn’t happen all the time is the owner butting in and making it worse.
Now, Taylor and his agent (Malki Kawa, in case you wanted his name) have ammunition to hold against Irsay, whether exaggerated or not, that they can complain about. Whatever later deal that Ballard could have spoke to Taylor about was single handedly vaporized when the owner went out and spoke his mind about the situation, at least according to them. Teams and players deadlock all the time-and you almost never hear owners come and speak their piece on it. Hell, two other teams (the Raiders and the Giants) had similar scenarios play out with their star backs in the last two years. Now, in both cases, the teams could have done things better, and both cases involved the tag. However, in neither case did the owners of the teams publically speak about the situation and thereby tick the player off so much that he swore off the team.
And what did Irsay gain by saying that? Did it help convince Taylor? Did he get some team to give up more picks? Did he gain an exemption from Goodell for Taylor’s new deal? No. He didn’t even get a free Whopper and drink combo with extra fries. Now, Ballard has to try to convince Taylor to return, despite Irsay’s unnecessary meddling, once again, that impacted the roster. Why would a team trade anything if value for Taylor now? It’s too late in the season, barring an injury, and they know that Taylor wants out. THAT’S why it was stupid-because it unnecessary. It accomplished nothing, and only made whatever was coming next even harder-and, in the case of a trade, less profitable. As always, I could be wrong, especially regarding the Colts’ current roster. I could be wrong about Taylor’s demands. But I know that what Irsay, and can’t seem to help himself from doing, was stupid. Trust me; after all, it takes one to know one, right?
Zack Moss is hoping his rushing yards for the season can equal the words in this comment…745
Upvoted
Ak – let me help pick apart your comments; I am a colts fan; in fact, season ticket holder 34 years. Irsay never said anything directly to or about Taylor until after he’s new agent, Kawa, took Taylor & one year before his 2nd round rookie was up, decided to play hardball on behalf of what was deemed unfair value for all RB’s. Irsay said now is not the time to renegotiate the CBA, just for RB’s. This came one day after the last day to accept the franchise tag & strike a long term deal. Barkley & Jacobs both chose to resign at market value. Taylor was never a malcontent until that day. Asking for a new contract a year early, while still injured, with a new coaching staff & scheme isn’t the time. Taylor doesn’t hold a single card to play here. He HAS a contract to fulfill. He listened to a bad agent & has all but killed his career.
Irsay shouldn’t have said anything publicly. He’s the owner not the GM. Owners should stay out of it, and not over reach on the GM. So yeah, he’s a big reason for this. Many players renegotiate contracts, like Zack Martin and Mahommes did. Taylor isn’t injured either, thats just an excuse to hold out. Just because you attend games doesn’t mean you know the inner workings of the NFL.
Plus-since when is Taylor healthy, because he or his agent said he was a month ago? You can’t put a player on PUP without an injury. If this was “just an excuse” by the team then JT would be screaming about it and the players union would file a grievance.
“Richardson can throw”
47 attempts he’s completing 64% but has 5.9 yards an attempt. He’s completing short passes. Any qb should be able to complete short passes.
10+ yards he’s only completing 59%. He needs to work on the long ball.
If the team huddles he’s only completing 60%.
Not much data to go on but if youre gonna say he can pass stats say he can only do short passes and if defense can’t substitute.
Where is the “all RBs are the same” crowd now???
Outside of 4-5 they are all the same.
So out of 64 starting RBs in the NFL, 59 are all the same? Lol
There are 4 or 5 top tier backs and then everyone else. Most teams teams try to use 2-3 Everyone Elses and hope to get similar production as a top tier back. You can get a lot of Everyone Elses for the price of one top tier back.
Sure, you can get alot of everyone else’s. But not the production of a top back. KC doesn’t need a top back, most other teams do.
Most teams get similar production from a committee. Not the same but close enough at half the cost or less. You can’t do that at WR so you have to pay them $25m+. Same with LT, DE, DT and LB. CB will be there soon.
Not sure I’d agree with that. Top backs catch the ball, don’t turn it over, and help in the blocking game. They get those critical 3 yards when you need that TD or 1st down. Those other backs wont get the ball in critical situations. Rookie QBs do much better with a solid running game. But that depends on OL. Teams like Dallas with beast OLs produce great RBs (and good QBs too). It’s a team game, and having weak RBs means you better have better pieces at QB, OL, and WR. But if you draft a top back who is a playmaker, you pay them and keep them. MINN is learning that lesson. NFL playmakers aren’t a dime a dozen.
KC, Miami, Buffalo, Baltimore, San Diego, J’ville, Dallas, Philly don’t have a problem with sharing carries. Some of their QBS are mobile but all in all the days of bell cow backs with 300+ carries are pretty much done. Most teams put in the their “3rd down back” to get those 3 yards and have for years. That’s how those smaller backs have made a living since the 90s.
I don’t totally disagree with your points, especially for a rookie QB, but teams make the playoffs with Everyone Else’s all the time. JT should have been an exception, and maybe he still will (doubt it in Indy), but he cut his own throat when his attitude and demeanor did a 180. It’s a shame.
I’ll argue that Buffalo needs JT. Look at Allen opening week, all over the place. They lost. The Allen to Diggs routine is old and hasn’t produced a SB yet. They can run up the score on bad Ds, but struggle against good Ds because they’re 1 dimensional. Last year in the playoffs they couldn’t put away a MIA team on their 3rd string QB and got manhandled by CIN. PHI put away SF on their 3rd string QB, but BUF couldn’t. BUF doesn’t have enough playmakers to win a SB. I’m not saying give JT a 5 yr $40M guaranteed contract, but even overpaying him a little bit brings up your odds of making the SB. And that’s worth it. The RBs they have now aren’t getting those 3 yards.
What team is going to trade a valuable pick(s) for a RB that wants big money guaranteed & has both ankle and back Injuries?
Browns might be dumb enough to give value for him. They are desperate enough at rb that he would be a decent add for them to keep trying to win.
And Chubbs career could be over…. sucks but in saying Cleveland…. we now are pointing out that all your eggs in one basket at RB is a huge risk. Most teams dont have a significant drop from RB1 to RB2. But those with elite runners (CMC/Barkely etc) the gap is incredible. CMC not carrying the rock for SF and the entire offense is diffent. Im stating the obvious but think about like your fantasy football team. RB1 costs you a lot. Having 2 RB2s keeps you in the average but the explosion isn’t there. RB1 goes down now you need to RB3s to take huge leaps. Irsay is a fool. Even if we take this RB talk out. Another 1% showing of his Elite status. Makes me sick really. But drafting a QB that high and having a shaky run game asks too much of a developing QB. Richardson had two nice runs for TDs but then got hurt. If Taylor was there he gets the carry and your young QB stays healthier.
Hard Knocks Colts
Irsay leading a “Jonathan Taylor, MVP!” chant in the locker room was great – but even greater was Taylor’s reaction, just to smile and shake his head. As you’d expect from someone who owns, but doesn’t crave, the NFL’s spotlight.
Trade him to the Bucs!!!
I’d love to see the Packers get him and give back Dillon and picks. Dillon is a complete bust for a second round pick so far.
Coming from Boston College he was able to run over lesser athletes when he was 250 pounds, now everyone in the NFL is a freak athlete for the most part and his lack of true technique shows up in every single failed 3rd and short attempt.
A new thought – trade Taylor to another team with a semi disgruntled RB in a 1 to 1 swap and see if new digs and maybe new negotiations will work.
Better yet – nfl invoke a new rule that owners don’t talk about player contracts. Talk about players but leave the money matters to the money managers.
Kinda like packaging Mattison & Akers for Taylor?
I’d like to see a team give up serious picks for this bum and then watch him blow out his ankle in week 8.
That’s kinda mean