Eight days after opening the door for running back Jonathan Taylor to pursue a trade, the Indianapolis Colts plan to close it on Tuesday barring an agreement with another team.
Multiple reports indicated at least two teams made trade offers to the Colts for the disgruntled Taylor. ESPN reported six teams had been in touch with the team as of Wednesday evening.
Tuesday is significant for all NFL teams; it’s the deadline for setting 53-man rosters that would include a decision on moving Taylor to the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list with an “injured reserve” designation.
Placing a player on IR-PUP brings a required four-game absence.
Taylor received the blessing of the team to seek a trade on Monday. The reported asking price of a first-round pick or a package of draft picks is viewed as a possible hindrance to Taylor’s wish of finding a new home.
The disgruntled Taylor is dealing with an ankle injury and informed the Colts he wanted to move on after a face-to-face meeting with team owner Jim Irsay. Irsay informed Taylor that a long-term contract offer would not be extended until the end of the 2023 season.
Taylor, who is on the PUP list after offseason ankle surgery, left the team twice during training camp, ostensibly to rehab his ankle out of state.
Taylor is in the final year of his contract and has a base salary of $4.3 million. Given recent contracts for players at the position, it’s unclear where Taylor’s asking price with the Colts was set or if he’d consider a short-term deal to grease the wheels for a trade out of Indy.
The Colts shared no details about the rehab protocol or process in place and head coach Shane Steichen effectively stopped discussing Taylor’s status last week.
“Now, he’s finishing his rehab process,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Hopefully, as we move forward here, we’ll get him back. But we need to get him 100 percent healthy before we do anything.”
An All-Pro in 2021, Taylor led the NFL in rushing that year with 1,811 yards. In his three NFL seasons, he has amassed 3,841 yards on the ground with 33 touchdowns, and 802 yards receiving with three scores.
–Field Level Media