Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has formally requested a trade following a meeting with owner Jim Irsay, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday night. Taylor is entering the final year of his rookie contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He is owed $5.1 million for the 2023 NFL season and would then be eligible for the franchise tag. Reports say that Taylor made the request a few days ago and the answer was not “no”. Here’s what Irsay had to say on the Taylor trade request:
#Colts owner Jim Irsay: “If I die tonight and Jonathan Taylor is out of the league, no one’s gonna miss us. The league goes on. We know that. The National Football (League) rolls on. It doesn’t matter who comes and who goes, and it’s a privilege to be a part of it.”
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) July 30, 2023
Running backs have been a big topic of discussion this offseason with Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard all unable to receive extensions with their respective teams. Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott also remain free agents. That may make it tough for the Colts to find a trade partner, especially a team who is willing to pay Taylor long-term. Among the teams who have shown interest in Cook and Zeke are the New England Patriots, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. We could see one of those teams shift their attention to Taylor.
As for Taylor, he turns 25 during the 2023 season and is coming off a down year, only playing in 11 games in 2022. He rushed for 861 yards and four TDs on a mostly bad Colts squad. This was a year after he had rushed for over 1,800 yards with 18 TDs to lead all backs in the NFL in 2021. With his contract being up after 2023, many viewed this as a big season for Taylor if he can stay healthy. In terms of fantasy football, Taylor is stilled viewed by experts as a fringe top-5 RB and very easily a top-10 back in PPR formats.
