According to James Boyd of The Athletic, Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor offered a cryptic response when asked if he recently requested a trade from the organization, essentially implying that “the hay is in the barn now, and he’s preparing for the Dallas Cowboys at home”:
As recently as last week, Taylor indicated that he did not request a trade from the Colts, despite some of his (former) teammates such as DeForest Buckner and Josh Downs likely going down that road as of late.
While the Colts have reportedly not been actively shopping Taylor around the league and possibly consider him a cornerstone of their ongoing rebuild to build around and complement, there are plenty of interested league suitors, and Indianapolis is clearly listening to prospective offers.
The Colts are reportedly hopeful for at least a ‘Christian McCaffrey-esque draft capital package”, and who knows, maybe even a first round pick to recoup some of the value lost from losing their own 2027 first round pick, a likely Top 5 pick that the New York Jets now own as part of the trade package given up from last year’s Sauce Gardner trade deadline deal.
In any case, Taylor is one of the last remaining key veteran pillars of the Colts’ previous regime and remains a Top 5 player at the running back position—albeit an elite player who will turn 28-years-old in January and realistically may only have 2-3 prime seasons left at a running back position which is unforgiving for a 30-year-old.
That may be at best, the amount of time it will take for the Colts to complete an accelerated and successful rebuild (if all goes according to plan) given that they don’t have a first round pick in 2027, still lack a viable franchise quarterback answer, and the current sad state of their depleted roster collectively (thanks, Chris Ballard!).
Perhaps there is some sentiment for Taylor, who is a strong candidate for the franchise’s Ring of Honor someday, remains on a Pro Football Hall of Fame track, and trails only Edgerrin James as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher in yards and carries, while already holding the record for most rushing touchdowns in Colts history.
It won’t be an easy decision to go either way, unless the Colts get swept, and it appears that that kind of “king’s ransom” running back package might be needed for Indianapolis to seriously entertain the moving Taylor.