AFC Notes: Jonathan Taylor, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Regarding his new four-year, $42 million contract, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor told reporters that it helps to show “running backs are essential.”

“I definitely think it is [a shift],” Taylor said of the sluggish running back market, via ESPN.com. “Anytime a running back can go out there and perform but also have some security, it just shows that running backs are essential.”

Taylor admitted that being away from the field for so long and the contract situation did take a toll on him this offseason. 

“It weighs [on you] a lot, especially when you’re not healthy and you can’t go out there and do what you love,” Taylor said. “It is tough. It pushes you and it puts you in tough positions mentally and you’ve got to have a good support system.”

“At the end of the day, it’s always the organization’s decision,” he added. “But being able to put yourself in the best position is always the No. 1 thing you can do. And for me, that was it.”

• Per Pro Football Talk, Taylor’s three-year, $42 million extension includes a $10.248 million signing bonus. His 2023 base salary was lowered from around $4.3 million to $784,556, and the base salaries in the new years of the deal are $7.804 million, $11.98 million and $11.98 million. 
• Taylor has his 2024 base salary guaranteed at signing as well as $7.152 million of his 2025 salary that is guaranteed for injury and vests to fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2024 league year. 
• Taylor has up to $510,000 in per-game roster bonuses in 2024 that are guaranteed, meaning he gets them if he’s cut but still needs to play to earn them. He has $1.02 million in per-game roster bonuses in 2025 and 2026. 

Jaguars

Jaguars owner Shad Khan is confident the team will have a new stadium agreement by the second quarter of 2024.

“I’m very optimistic,” Khan said, via PFT. “Mayor [Donna] Deegan was here [in London] for the Falcons game and was very active with the city officials.”

Khan didn’t commit to playing 100% of the team’s home games in Jacksonville even after the new stadium is built.

“We want to think about this as we see how this whole thing has worked,” Khan said. “There is a third part here, the NFL. Right now, whether it was Mayor Deegan or Mayor [Sadiq] Khan or the [U.K.] fans, everyone thinks it’s been a great experiment over the last decade for the Jacksonville Jaguars playing games here. It’s been great for businesses in the city to get exposure on a global scale. As you look at it right now, it’s something we want to do and we want to be doing it for the long haul, given how well it’s worked out. But you can’t decide that today.”

Titans

• Titans worked out CB Deandre Baker, DL Marquan McCall, CB Tay Gowan (signed) and DL Taylor Stallworth (signed). (Aaron Wilson)
• Titans HC Mike Vrabel on if CB Kristian Fulton‘s mistakes are correctable: “They’d better be very quickly.” (Terry McCormick)