The Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday. By Thursday, other teams were sniffing around Jonathan Taylor. The NFL doesn’t let a body get cold.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder reported that multiple teams have trade interest in the Colts running back. No teams have been named officially, though several have been tossed around in the rumor mill. Indianapolis is 2-4, Ed Dodds is the interim GM, and the trade deadline is November 10.
Holder put it this way: “The Colts are still plotting their next moves after Monday’s firing of general manager Chris Ballard, with many around the NFL expected to gauge the team’s interest in dealing some of its key players.”
So the phones are ringing. Whether anybody in Indy picks up is the question.
Taylor isn’t biting
Taylor was asked about his future on Thursday, and he gave the answer every coach dreams of hearing.
“That’d be crazy right now, especially because we’ve got a great Minnesota Vikings team that we have to go against,” Taylor said. “I think it would be a discredit and a disservice to my teammates and this whole organization to think about what could, what should, what may be.”
That’s a pro answer. It’s also exactly what a guy says right before he gets traded, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The numbers, and the money
Taylor, 27, led the league last season in carries (323) and first downs (84). This year he has 122 carries for 492 yards and seven touchdowns in six games, plus 15 catches for 163 yards. That’s still productive, but his yards per carry is down to 4.0 from 4.9 last season. He has 8,090 career rushing yards, and among active backs only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley have more.
Here’s the complication. Taylor signed an extension this summer that pays him $22 million per year, third among running backs. It has been suggested that trading him this season would likely leave the Colts with more than $20 million in dead money. That’s a lot of cash to eat for a team that, on paper, still wants to win games.
And the owner says that’s still the plan. “We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve and win football games,” Carlie Irsay-Gordon said after Ballard’s firing.
Translation: nobody wants to say “sell” out loud yet.
The next two weeks will probably decide it. The Colts play at 5-0 Minnesota on Sunday, then face 4-2 Jacksonville. Lose both, and it’s hard to see a 2-6 team holding onto an expensive running back with bidders calling. Plus, with Irsay-Gordon patrolling the sidelines, head coach Shane Steichen could be in trouble too if things don’t turn around, which adds a little extra urgency to Sunday.
However, win both, and suddenly Taylor is the guy carrying a wild-card push. Taylor isn’t the only name to watch, either. Pro Football Rumors lists Quenton Nelson, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart and Jerry Tillery as other Colts who could come up in talks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that teams believe Indianapolis will be open for business at the deadline.
For now, Taylor’s focus is on the Vikings. Everybody else’s focus is on whether the Colts’ new front office treats November 10 as a deadline or a garage sale.