The Indianapolis Colts plan to play Jonathan Taylor on Sunday in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
There’s an inherent risk to that as Taylor remains in intense trade rumors ahead of the NFL’s trading deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
But it seems the Colts both are showing a little defiance and potentially also want to retain leverage in trades by making it appear that they’re totally content to keep Taylor.
To be fair, they may actually be totally content to keep Taylor. He has two years remaining on his contract. He’s not a free agent until after the 2028 season.
Unlike guys on expiring contracts who are almost certain to move — Josh Downs and Grover Stewart leading that group — Taylor truly doesn’t have to go anywhere unless the Colts choose to make it happen.
Still, there are questions about whether Taylor will get a full workload this week. He got eight carries and 62% of the snaps in the blowout loss to the Jaguars in Week 8.
The Colts likely will have to avoid getting blown out by Dallas to keep Taylor on the field for most of the game, but even then, it’s not a given he sees his usual work.
At least one analyst thinks Seth McGowan is going to swipe some action from JT.
Seth McGowan vs. Jonathan Taylor
ESPN’s Seth Walder made a prediction for Sunday’s game in a new article on Friday:
“Colts RB Seth McGowan will score a touchdown. With Jonathan Taylor potentially on the trade block, I suspect Indianapolis might want to lighten his workload. That opens the door for a McGowan score.”
It’s certainly a reasonable thought. McGowan already was proving this season that he can be a quality NFL player even as a seventh-round rookie, and with Taylor potentially on his way out, McGowan could see even more time.
Particularly in the second half, the Colts may simply decide to play it safe and let McGowan go to work.
Will Colts Give Any Hints?
The one interesting element here is whether the Colts give any hints as to what they might do.
If they give Taylor 25 carries, for example, is that a signal that he won’t be traded?
It seems more likely that the Colts will hold their cards as close to their chest as possible. But everyone will be paying attention to what Indy does with Taylor on Sunday, because whatever the outcome with him is in the week ahead, it’ll have major implications across the NFL.
Colts’ Jonathan Taylor in Danger of Losing Work to Seth McGowan This Week