Jonathan Taylor informed the Indianapolis Colts this week that he wants to be traded after the franchise refused to sign him to a long-term contract extension. While the Colts aren’t willing to meet Taylor’s asking price for a long-term deal, they are reportedly setting their own price in a trade.
Taylor, entering the last year of his rookie contract, was poised to challenge for All-Pro consideration this season. After an injury-riddled 2022 campaign, the NFL rushing leader in 2021 was poised to be the centerpiece of a new-look Colts’ offense. Now, his future with Indianapolis is in doubt.
- Jonathan Taylor stats (career): 3,841 rushing yards, 33 rushing touchdowns, 5.1 yards per carry in 43 games
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After privately requesting a trade this week, Taylor met with Colts’ owner Jim Irsay on a luxury bus by the team’s training camp practices on Saturday. After being informed that Indianapolis had no interest right now in negotiating a contract extension, Taylor stood firm by his trade request.
While Irsay stated publicly that Indianapolis is completely opposed to trading Taylor, NFL teams are still expected to call. When the Colts receive inquiries on their All-Pro running back, the price to make a deal happen is reportedly significant.
According to ESPN’s Stephen Holder, Indianapolis wants an “early-round draft pick” if it’s going to trade Taylor elsewhere. However, Indianapolis acknowledges its unlikely to get that for him.
- Jonathan Taylor contract: $5.117 million salary (2023), 2024 free agent
Related: Jonathan Taylor’s relationship with Indianapolis Colts deteriorated quickly
The issue for the Colts is the same reason why an extension with Taylor isn’t happening. NFL teams no longer see the value in paying a single running back $13-plus million per season for multiple years when they can easily find quality production from multiple running backs at a fraction of the price.
Even if Taylor was signed to a long-term deal and wasn’t unhappy with his contract, Indianapolis would still have issues finding a trade partner. Dalvin Cook has been a free agent for two months, joining a market that has seen Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott only take one visit each this offseason.
Any NFL team that acquired Taylor would likely feel obligated to sign him to a contract extension, which would multiply the cost of acquiring him. As a result, the Colts likely won’t find any NFL team willing to trade an early-round pick for Taylor.