The Minnesota Vikings have a “Monday Night Football” game against the Buffalo Bills — one of the NFL’s very best teams — to worry about, but the wheels on personnel moves undoubtedly continue to spin in the front office in Eagan, Minnesota with the trade deadline looming approximately 24 hours from now.
Perhaps the No. 1 question is what the Vikings will do to improve the run game, which is probably the team’s best avenue to a quick offensive fix that can help that side of the football live up more closely to the elite play Minnesota is producing on defense under coordinator Brian Flores.
Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts is the prize of the trade market, and a player with whom Minnesota has been infatuated for several weeks. And the Vikings remain among the favorites to land Taylor, along with the New York Giants, per multiple reports over the weekend.
However, the RB’s trade cost is likely to determine where he lands, or if he leaves Indianapolis at all. That Taylor does leave the Colts is not an absolute certainty, though the three-time Pro Bowler himself made some comments on Sunday, November 8 that indicate the next chapter of his career may be just around the corner.
Jonathan Taylor Issues Goodbye Message to Colts Fans
Taylor sp0ke with media members about trade deadline following his team’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, making comments which offered some insight into what might be coming in the hours ahead.
“I think you play every game like it’s your last. But at the end of the day, this has been the spot where I grew up,” Taylor said. “You really embraced this city, the people and you’re just like, ‘This place helped shape me into the man I am today.’ So I’m very grateful. So if it is (my last game with the Colts), I’m very grateful for the city of Indianapolis.”
Don’t see this often.
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He added his hopes for how Colts’ fans will remember him if he ends up playing elsewhere.
“I just hope that they appreciate and know that I appreciate them,” Taylor continued. “And it was a pleasure to put on display not only all of my hard work, but the team’s hard work each and every single week, each and every single year. Just know it was a pleasure.”
NFL Insider Predicts Colts Take Best Offer for Jonathan Taylor at Trade Deadline
The Colts are holding out for a first-round pick in return for Taylor, having reportedly turned down an offer of a second-rounder and a later draft asset already. Several insiders indicated that said offer came from the Giants.
In the days since, New York has apparently cooled off a bit on acquiring Taylor, which brings the Vikings firmly back into the mix as either the No. 1 or No. 2 contender for his services. Still, whether Minnesota can lock down the Colts running back will probably just depend on how much the team is willing to give up for his services.
“The current belief in league circles is that the Colts will take the best offer that’s on the table as the deadline approaches,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote Sunday. “Sure, the Colts would like to get as much as they can. … But the Colts are likely to take what they can get, with the market for Taylor set by the competition among the teams that make an offer.”
Jonathan Taylor Issues Telling Trade Message as Vikings Pursue RB