Report: Colts running back Jonathan Taylor ‘expected to draw trade interest’

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is ‘expected to draw trade interest’ from other running back needy teams:

“My understanding just talking to several GMs across the league that there’s expected to be interest in Jonathan Taylor, and there’s a couple at least who are planning to call the Colts to gauge where they are, would they really, really not trade him, and then it comes down to the contract, and I do believe, based upon the same information, that there are teams willing to do a real contract for him,” said Rapoport on Tuesday.

“Would the Colts entertain that? Would they trade away their best player? All this remains to be seen, but publicly the Colts have said they are not, but this is what’s going to play out over the next couple of weeks, as the stalemate between Taylor and the Colts continues.”

As of now, the Colts—and specifically team owner Jim Irsay have indicated that they have no interest in trading Taylor to a potential suitor.

It’s possible that their mindset could eventually change though if the relationship between the franchise and its star player continues to deteriorate—especially in the locker room, and they receive a strong enough offer to warrant pulling the trigger on a blockbuster trade.

The Colts offense looks a whole lot less potent without Taylor anchoring the team’s ground game. Yes, the team could still find a productive running back in its backfield, but Taylor is an elite talent at the position, capable of taking it to the house anytime he touches the ball and a rare workhorse, consistently churning out positive yards despite heavy workloads.

It’s still in the franchise’s best interests to ultimately get a deal done with Taylor—especially when considering easing top rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson’s initial development, but at the same time, Indianapolis has all of the leverage at the present time.