Colts mishandled the Jonathan Taylor situation

Released November 11, 2026 11:30 AM

When the dust chosen the trade due date, the Colts still had running back Jonathan Taylor under agreement. It was not the result that the majority of around the league anticipated.

All indications indicated the Colts taking the very best deal at 3:45 p.m. ET and processing the documents before the top of the hour. Whatever the very best deal was.

That’s what a practical company would have done. The Colts presently are not.

The Giants wanted to quit a second-round choice and a fifth-round choice for Taylor. It’s uncertain in the meantime whether anybody else wanted to do much better than that.

In the interim, Taylor invested 2 weeks not understanding what would occur. He didn’t get a guarantee he would not be traded till approximately an hour before the window closed. (Even then, the leakage felt more like a “last call” to interested suitors.)

The fans invested that exact same amount of time questioning what the Colts were doing. And Taylor got just 8 brings in the 42-7 loss to Jacksonville, at a time when it seemed like a trade loomed.

What takes place next for Taylor? If they attempt to trade him in the offseason, they will not do much better than they would have done when a competitor wanted to pay a premium in an effort to win now. And if they do not get at least as much as they could have gotten on Tuesday, will they decline to trade him once again?

Taylor might wind up being stuck on the Colts throughout an apparent reconstruct. By the time it’s rebuilt (if it ever is), Taylor will be previous his prime.

The easiest description is that the Colts slipped into dysfunction on this one. And it’s not a surprise. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is still relatively brand-new to the task. The G.M. has actually been fired. And coach Shane Steichen wishes to win adequate video games to have an opportunity to keep his task; he certainly wasn’t lobbying to lose his finest gamer.

What should the Colts have done? When they were doing the offers for guard Quenton Nelson and protective take on DeForest Buckner, they need to have requested the different Taylor suitors to make their last, finest deals. And the Colts needs to have made a decision then and there regarding whether he ‘d be traded or kept.

Rather, they chose to wait and see whether the deals would enhance. Taylor was delegated question his future. After the Week 9 loss to the Cowboys, he essentially bid farewell to Indianapolis.

The Eagles didn’t play it that method with running back Saquon Barkley. They understood what was out there, they chose not to take the very best deal, and they notified Barkley that he would not be altering groups.

The Colts rather kicked the can, declining the very best deal and hoping it would impove. That provided Taylor 2 weeks to consider the possibility of betting a competitor before the Colts chose not to shoot on a trade.

They’ll never ever confess, however the Colts will concern be sorry for not taking the very best offer. Due to the fact that the deals will not get any much better after the season. At some time, Taylor is going to recognize it’s in his benefits to ask for a trade.

That will be an issue for the next G.M. to handle. Which wrinkle will not make the task more appealing to a prospect who has choices.