Indianapolis Colts running back and former rushing champion Jonathan Taylor is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract. As things stand right now, Taylor will be a free agent once next March comes calling.
It’s not a great time for running backs in the NFL. Earlier on Monday, we saw reigning rushing champion Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants star Saquon Barkley fail to come to term on long-term contracts.
Instead, they’ll play the 2023 season under the dreaded franchise tag with each earning a mere $10.09 million in the process.
As all of this played out, Taylor sent a cryptic post on social media. It included one word but tells us all we need to know about his thought process right now.
The 24-year-old Taylor is set to earn a mere $4.3 million in 2023, the final year of his rookie contract. This makes Taylor the ninth highest-paid member of the Colts. He has obviously outplayed his contract in a big way.
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Jonathan Taylor career stats: 3,841 rushing yards, 104 receptions, 802 yards, 4,643 total yards, 36 TD
It was back in 2021 that Taylor led the NFL in rush attempts (332), rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18), total yards (2,171) and total touchdowns (20).
Taylor could have simply been reacting to Monday’s news surrounding fellow Pro Bowl running backs. But the former Wisconsin standout has been vocal about the devaluation of running backs in today’s NFL.
“You definitely have to pay attention, just so you know, ‘OK, what type of space are you entering into?'” Jonathan Taylor said back in June. “And you just hope from the track record here [in Indianapolis] that things are being evaluated the right way.”
As it stands, we’re going to see running backs react this way as they continue to be seen as a dime a dozen around the league.
Putting it into perspective, Christian McCaffrey is the highest-paid running back in the NFL. He’s also the 104th highest-paid player in the league on a per-year basis. Let that sink in for a second.