The Green Bay Packers have been among the teams checking on Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, but a blockbuster deal may have to wait until the final hours before the NFL trade deadline.
Indianapolis has received offers for Taylor and other veterans as it retools its roster. Yet a new report says the Colts are prepared to play Sunday’s game against Dallas before returning to the negotiating table, unless another team makes an offer they cannot pass up.
Packers Get Jonathan Taylor Trade Timeline Before Deadline
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported Thursday that Indianapolis continues fielding calls.
“Sources: The #Colts have received plenty of calls on several players, including Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs, Grover Stewart and others,” Schultz wrote.
But the offers have not convinced Indianapolis to act immediately.
“But the belief around the league is that, barring an offer that blows them away, Indianapolis plans to wait until after Sunday’s game vs the Cowboys before revisiting the offers on the table and making the trades that make sense on Monday and Tuesday ahead of the deadline,” he added.
The Colts play Dallas on Nov. 8, followed by the league’s Nov. 10 deadline. Schultz’s report suggests any interested team, including Green Bay, could face a compressed negotiating window.
This is not the first time the Packers have surfaced in Taylor trade reporting. On Nov. 1, Schultz said Green Bay was among five teams that had checked in, alongside Minnesota, New York, Denver and Cincinnati.
Schultz called the asking price too high but said sources believed “a trade is leaning to be more likely than not at this point.”
As noted previously, the price remains an obstacle. Indianapolis is reportedly seeking compensation comparable to the 2022 Christian McCaffrey deal, when San Francisco sent Carolina second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round selections.
NFL.com’s Bobby Kownack reported that the Packers were among teams with some level of interest, citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Packers’ Running Game Makes Jonathan Taylor an Intriguing Target
Green Bay’s interest comes despite Josh Jacobs returning to the lineup in October. The Packers are 5-3, but their ground game has produced only 60.6 rushing yards per game through eight contests, the league’s lowest total.
Quarterback Jordan Love told NFL.com’s Matt Schneidman the offense has leaned on passing. “If we wanna be the team we wanna be, we definitely gotta improve the run game,” Love said.
Jacobs has 75 yards on 32 carries in his two appearances. He managed 39 on 21 attempts against Carolina, though he scored rushing and receiving touchdowns in the victory.
Taylor, 27, has rushed for 610 yards and eight touchdowns through eight games. He has topped 1,400 rushing yards in each of the past two seasons and signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August, keeping him under contract through 2028.
That contract and Indianapolis’ demands make this a far more expensive move than adding temporary backfield depth.
Taylor has not requested a trade. Before last Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, he told Colts.com’s JJ Stankevitz that he remained proud to play for Indianapolis while recognizing the business realities.
The Packers already know the Colts are willing to move established players after the trades of Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner. Whether Taylor joins them could depend on what Green Bay or another suitor puts on the table after Sunday.
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