The Indianapolis Colts spent weeks considering whether to trade superstar running back Jonathan Taylor.
On the one hand, this is an Indy team clearly entering a rebuild. The draft picks Taylor could bring back in a trade return could help the Colts for years to come.
On the other hand, Taylor wasn’t in the last year of his contract. He signed an extension just this summer. He’s signed on through 2028. If the Colts wanted to have him around for two more full seasons, they could.
It left the Colts in a tricky spot. They had to set the price high and try to maintain some leverage, but that wasn’t easy once the rumors became common knowledge that Taylor might move.
The best negotiating power that the Colts had was the fact that they didn’t have to trade Taylor.
Turns out, they stuck with that decision through the end.
Did the Colts Trade Jonathan Taylor?
No, the Colts didn’t trade Jonathan Taylor before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
NFL insiders Jordan Schultz and Tom Pelissero both reported about an hour before the deadline that Taylor wouldn’t be going anywhere — so barring a crazy late twist, that’s the final verdict.
The Colts chose to keep Taylor around rather than deal him on Tuesday. They’ll have him at least through the end of this season. They could revisit a trade in the offseason, or they could commit to Taylor being their workhorse back going forward.
Either way, it’s major news. A Taylor trade could’ve swung the Super Bowl race. By holding Taylor, the Colts have deprived a number of contenders from a major upgrade at running back.
Why Didn’t Colts Trade Jonathan Taylor?
The Colts appear to have weighed a couple things to end up on the no-trade side of the equation.
For one, Taylor being under contract for two more seasons mattered. It both gave the Colts an out, a way to keep him around, while also allowing them to ask for a major price.
Given that, it seems the Colts must not have gotten the offer they wanted.
It’s hard to imagine, for example, that the Colts would’ve held Taylor if they were offered a first-round pick for him – but all along, the implication was that that wouldn’t happen.
And so whatever the offer was, below the level of a first-rounder, simply must not have added up to enough for Indy.
Insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Colts didn’t get the “blockbuster offer” they wanted.
Multiple teams offered a second-round pick and more for Taylor. But the Colts wanted a blockbuster offer to even consider it. Instead, Taylor stays in Indy.
It’s impossible to know right at the trade deadline buzzer what all the factors were, but in this case, it was never a given that the Colts would trade Taylor. They ended up on the side of the equation that said to hold onto their superstar running back going forward.
Colts Make Final Decision on Trading Jonathan Taylor