Colts
- The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, citing a league source, says the Colts’ preference is to keep RB Jonathan Taylor and not give in to his trade request. They believe he still has the potential to be a premier running back for the foreseeable future.
- Howe polled eight other NFL GMs or high-ranking decision-makers about the chances of a Taylor trade going down, and the consensus was that the asking price from the Colts (draft pick) and Taylor (contract) would be too much. One GM summed it up: “Too pricy on both fronts.”
- They also pointed out it’s unlikely teams would stretch themselves too much even if they had a need at running back, as there are a number of notable free agents still available and a ton of quality backs scheduled to be unrestricted free agents in 2024.
- However, Howe points out if the relationship between the Colts and Taylor reaches the point of no return, Indianapolis could consider a trade. Putting Taylor on the non-football injury list which would deny him his salary for the 2023 season would qualify as that kind of move, and Howe’s source says that’s viewed as unlikely right now.
- Colts HC Shane Steichen said DT DeForest Buckner is dealing with a foot injury and LB E.J. Speed hurt his ankle. (Joel Erickson)
- Colts first-round QB Anthony Richardson took all of the first-team snaps on offense again on Thursday, though Steichen said it was partially to make up for the time he missed due to his nose procedure. (Erickson)
- Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. said he’ll play out the final year of his rookie contract if the team doesn’t offer him an extension but added not to mistake that for a lack of desire for a new deal: “I mean, I think everybody wants to get paid. … I wouldn’t mind one” (Erickson)
Jaguars
Jaguars HC Doug Pederson says he’s looking for third-year RB Travis Etienne to take another step and get downhill faster this season.
“It’s one of the things that when we looked at his game this offseason back in February and March before the players came back, one of the things that we noticed was just him attacking the hole downhill,” Pederson said, via NFL.com. “Shoulders squared, attack the line of scrimmage, finding that crease where a lot of times you’ll see him try to bounce. We were able to show him and really emphasize shoulders-squared, anticipating where the hole could be, and just trusting that.
“He’s done an outstanding job. He’s bought into that. He sees it, we’ve been able to show it to him. He’s working on that in training camp right now.”
In fact, Pederson went as far as to say he wants to see Etienne “pushing 1,600-1,700 yards as a rusher.”
“That’s the next step for him, I mean it was his rookie year,” Pederson said. “You don’t just hand a guy a ball and let him go run, sometimes that happens but there’s that skill and ability to anticipate a hole. We always talk about speed through the hole, not to the hole type of thing. He’s really embraced that this training camp. That, to me, is the next step for him and that 11-12-13, now the yards start creeping up, and maybe he’s pushing 1,600-1,700 yards as a rusher.”
Texans
- According to Click2Houston.com’s Aaron Wilson, Texans C Scott Quessenberry went down in practice with an apparent knee injury. The team is still diagnosing the severity but the early word is it appears to be an MCL injury.
- Texans WR John Metchie says he feels 110 percent right now after missing his entire rookie year with leukemia: “I feel better than I ever did in college.” (Brooks Kubena)
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