NFL Rumors: Lions whiff on Lance, rejected Taylor trade, surprise Browns cut

NFL Rumors: Colts rejected Dolphins' Jonathan Taylor trade offer

If the Miami Dolphins are trying to keep their interest in trading for disgruntled Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor under wraps, they're doing a truly terrible job of that.

Miami has poked around the running back market all offseason, most notably being all-in on a pursuit of Dalvin Cook following his release from the Minnesota Vikings. With a series of ill-fated pursuits behind them, however, their sights are now squarely set on trading for Taylor, who has requested a trade from the Colts and was subsequently granted permission to seek one.

Unfortunately, the Colts aren't entirely willing to play ball with them just yet.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported on Friday that the Dolphins made a formal offer for Taylor to Indianapolis, but they were turned down by the Colts. Perhaps just as notable from Jackson's report is that no team who has inquired or made a trade offer for Taylor to this point has "come close" to the Colts' asking price of a first-round pick or a package of draft capital of equal value.

Eventually, the belief should be that Indy will have to move off of that price tag. Taylor isn't just an elite running back who's going to fetch a Christian McCaffrey (or better) type of trade package. He's an elite back in the final year of his cheap rookie contract who is looking for a top-of-market extension from any team he'd be traded to. That's not going to net a first-round pick in a return package.

Whether it's the Dolphins or one of the other interested teams, though, you can bet that Miami will continue to burn up the phone lines trying to upgrade their backfield yet again.