Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade after meeting with owner Jim Irsay.
Stephen Holder reports that Taylor actually requested a trade several days ago and the Colts’ response was not “no.”
Irsay recently stirred the pot with a Tweet about the pay structure for running backs and how agents are negotiating in “bad faith.”
Irsay clarified his remarks to ESPN’s Stephen Holder explaining that the Tweet had nothing to do with Taylor, who is seeking a long-term deal of his own.
Irsay did, however, disclose that they have not made an official contract offer to Taylor.
“The comment wasn’t really directed at Jonathan,” Irsay said. “We haven’t exchanged any contract numbers with each other or anything like that. So, it’s not like we’re in the midst of that. I think we had a tough season last year. Didn’t win a lot of games. This is a year about coming back together and having a great year and we’re really depending on Jonathan to team up with [quarterback] Anthony Richardson to try and pull together to have a great year.”
“We love Jonathan, we need Jonathan,” Irsay added. “Our hope is Jonathan has an outstanding year and that we have a good year as a team and then we get his next contract done. That’s the hope. We think the world of him as a person, as a player. It’s just timing. When your time comes to get paid, then you get paid.”
It remains to be seen what kind of market there will be for a running back at this point in the year, even one as talented as Taylor. The Colts have him under contract for the 2023 season and have a franchise tag available next year.
Taylor is currently on the active/PUP list and is entering the final year of his rookie contract. It’s possible that Taylor could be in a similar position as Saquon Barkley next year, which is being forced to play under the franchise tag.
Taylor, 24, is a former second-round pick of the Colts back in 2020 out of Wisconsin. He’s currently entering the final year of his four-year, four-year, $7,829,150 contract with the Colts that included a $3,253,928 signing bonus.
He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
In 2022, Taylor appeared in 11 games and recorded 192 rushing attempts for 861 yards (4.5 YPC) and four touchdowns.
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