The Indianapolis Colts are a sinking ship trying to dump weight in an effort to stay afloat. Running back Jonathan Taylor is the heaviest anchor on board and the longer the team waits to get the perfect return in any trade, the more likely it is the ship goes under.
Taylor has been at the center of trade speculation for multiple weeks as the Colts have lost four straight games but pundits worry the team is asking for an unreasonable price that could end up hampering the desired rebuild if a deal isn't reached. Indianapolis is reportedly asking for a 2027 second rounder plus more, using the 2022 Christian McCaffrey trade as a guide.
That was a reasonable way to go about negotiations for the 2021 First-Team All-Pro but only if the team was going to appear somewhat competitive with him still on the roster. In Week 8, Indianapolis was trounced 42-7 by the Jacksonville Jaguars and Taylor only managed 23 yards on eight carries. That easily could be the low point for the year but it squashes any negotiating power for the Colts going forward.
Colts' Jonathan Taylor leverage is practically nonexistent as trade dealine looms
At 2-6, Indianapolis has very little hope of rebounding to make the playoffs. In fact, ownership has already hit the reset button by firing longtime general manager Chris Ballard and trading franchise cornerstones Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner. Taylor appears to be the final task on the pre-deadline to do list but that leaving the most valuable asset for last just made things harder.
Potential trade partners know Indianapolis is hopeless this year even with Taylor. The Jacksonville game was Exhibit A in that argument. Now they can approach with a "take it or leave it" attitude knowing the Colts are going to have to chip away at their price ask to get a deal done. Taylor may be a cornerstone piece but this team isn't in a position to build around him to find success by the time his new two-year, $44 million extension is up.
Indianapolis is still going to get a good return but it's probably not going to reach Christian McCaffrey level anymore. The team missed its opportunity to capitalize before Taylor suffered one of the worst performances of his career in an embarrassing defeat.
The remaining schedule isn't any easier either. Despite the Dallas Cowboys owning one of the worst defenses in the league, Indianapolis may be worse without Buckner and facing Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Co. on Sunday. That'll be the team's last opportunity to prove Taylor is still an all-star level acquisition.
Potential trade partners know after that, should Taylor remain a Colt, the team's best case scenario is finishing .500 and retaining an asset that will have increasingly diminishing value throughout the offseason. The time is now to flip him for a haul (however much that is) and move on with the rebuild. The bidding war isn't as furious as it's being made out to be and pretending that it is will only hurt Indianapolis in the long term.
Add us as a preferred source on Google