According to NFL Insider Tom Pelissero in ‘The Sweep,’ Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor is available via trade, but it would take a significant draft capital haul for the franchise to part with its last remaining key veteran pillar:
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor: How expensive would it be to get Taylor out of Indianapolis? The Colts have already been offered a 2027 second-round draft pick plus an additional pick for Taylor—and they immediately rejected it. Even after trading Nelson
and Buckner, the Colts aren’t in fire sale mode. Taylor is only 27, he is the face of the franchise, and he just signed a two-year, $44 million contract extension in August. The Colts won’t deal him for anything other than a premium haul—and rightfully so. The Colts haven’t told other teams exactly what they want for Taylor, but it makes sense they’d want something close to deal the Panthers got when they traded Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco in 2022 in exchange for 2023 second-, third-, and fourth-round picks plus a 2024 fifth-rounder. Taylor is due about $4.866 million for the rest of this season, including active roster bonuses. His $15 million base salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed five days after the Super Bowl.
The Colts reportedly were quick to turn down overtures of a second round pick, as Indianapolis appears to be holding out hope for at least a first round pick to part with their star workhorse during a busy week for the franchise, which already saw the Horseshoe trade fellow veterans Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.
It’s already been reported that Colts team owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who met with Taylor earlier this week, considers him potentially a major piece of the ongoing rebuild that was recently jumpstarted after such a disappointing start to Indianapolis’ season (at 2-5), that also saw longtime general manager Chris Ballard, the NFL executive who traded for and drafted Taylor back in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft, recently fired.
Per ESPN’s Stephen Holder and longtime CBS 4/FOX 59’s Mike Chappell, while the Colts are currently listening on offers for Taylor from prospective trade suitors, Indianapolis isn’t actively shopping the franchise’s 2nd all-time career rushing leader (8,185) and all-time rushing touchdowns leader (77) either:
On the season, Taylor has 140 carries for 587 total rushing yards (4.2 ypc. avg.) and 8 rushing touchdowns during all 7 starts. The expectation remains that if Taylor is still on the team, he’ll be active for Sunday’s game on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars, per usual.
Among suitors, there’s been reports that the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and New England Patriots are among the teams that have already called and expressed interest in Taylor to the Colts regarding various degrees.
However, again, the Colts have to be “blown away” by an offer, which likely means at least a first round pick to help Indianapolis get back into ‘Day 1,’ having also traded their 2027 first for Sauce Gardner in a premium package ahead of last year’s trade deadline.
It’s a fair question though whether Indianapolis should seriously consider trading Taylor now to maximize the possible draft capital return, given that he is 27-years-old, has heavy mileage on his tires, and running backs don’t tend to age all that gracefully entering their thirties (unless you’re Derrick Henry and very few others).
Meaning Taylor may only have 2-3 peak years left, which is realistically the amount of total time that it will take the Colts to fully complete a successful rebuild—that is, if all goes according to their next plan.
