Some decisions before the NFL trade deadline are relatively easy.
Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, who decide to sell off players, can find it simple to give up players who are on expiring contracts. If they don’t expect to get new deals done with those players, it’s better to get something back for those guys than let them leave for nothing in free agency after a non-playoff season.
That’s why the Colts already traded Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. It’s why the Colts already traded DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers.
And it’s why Josh Downs, Grover Stewart and Keenan Allen are among the players who should be heavily involved in trade rumors before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
But some decisions are tougher. For the Colts, that’s the category Jonathan Taylor falls in.
Jonathan Taylor Trade Update
Taylor isn’t on an expiring contract. He’s under his newly signed extension through the 2028 season. The Colts don’t have to trade him, because they won’t be losing him.
But that’s what makes him different. Taylor’s chance at getting value back from another team is so much higher because of the fact that he’d be with his new team through 2028.
“Unlike Nelson and Buckner, Taylor is not on an expiring deal,” The Athletic’s James Boyd writes. “The star running back just signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August that keeps him under contract through 2028. Being more than a half-year rental should make Taylor the Colts’ hottest commodity at the trade deadline, especially since the 27-year-old is still playing at a Pro Bowl level. Since entering the NFL in 2020, only Derrick Henry has more rushing yards than Taylor, and he’s on pace to rush for another 1,400-plus yards and 19 touchdowns this season.”
Taylor’s contract length gives him a chance to be a game-changing move for the Colts if they trade him. Of course, the Colts already know Taylor is a game-changing player when he’s on their team.
Trade Cost
Whether or not the Colts deal Taylor will likely come down to the return.
Indy would have to get a huge draft capital package for Taylor to move him, because otherwise, it’s not worth it.
The Colts could have two more seasons with Taylor, and while this is a roster in more disarray than expected, JT would still be a great building block for 2027 and 2028.
Indy would have to feel it’s getting assets so valuable that they’ve got a solid chance of being worth more than Taylor in the long run. And it remains to be seen whether they’ll get an offer on that level.
Colts’ Jonathan Taylor Trade Talks Stand Out As Different