The Green Bay Packers went into the season in uncharted territory, as it marked the first time in a decade-and-a-half that Aaron Rodgers was not playing quarterback for the club.
The Jordan Love era has begun in Green Bay, and while there have certainly been some early growing pains, the Packers haven’t looked too shabby, going 1-1 over their first two games in 2023.
In the very winnable NFC North, Green Bay actually looks like it has a chance to make some noise, meaning that the club could be active in trade talks in the lead-up to the Oct. 31 NFL deadline.
That means the Packers could (and should) potentially revisit a trade for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
Green Bay held brief discussions with the Colts about Taylor over the summer, but talks didn’t seem to go very far.
Here are three reasons why the Packers should start talks back up with Colts again.
Aaron Jones’ Health
Packers running back Aaron Jones suffered a hamstring injury in the club’s Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears and ended up sidelined in Green Bay’s Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He also did not take part in individual drills on Wednesday, although he returned to practice on Thursday.
Jones is no stranger to injuries, as the 28-year-old has only played two full season since entering the league in 2017.
Hamstring issues in particular can be tricky and are easy to re-aggravate, so the Packers may have to monitor Jones’ hamstring for the next several weeks.
Trading for Taylor would solve that problem. Of course, Taylor is on the PUP list and will not be eligible to return until Week 5, but when healthy, he is one of the NFL’s best halfbacks and would be an instant upgrade over Jones, who, again, isn’t exactly a beacon of health himself.
It Would Open Things Up for Jordan Love
Love is under enough pressure as it is attempting to fill the shoes of Rodgers. He doesn’t exactly have much help in the aerial attack, as the Packers don’t have a true No. 1 receiver on their roster (or much proven talent at wide out in general).
The addition of Jonathan Taylor would make things a heck of a lot easier for Love. Defenses would have to gameplan for Taylor, which would take much of the spotlight off of Love and allow him to have more breathing room.
Plus, while no one is going to confuse Taylor for Marshall Faulk, he is a decent pass-catcher out of the backfield, which would provide Love with a solid option on screens and checkdowns.
The Packers Can Rebuild with Taylor
Even though the Packers have looked fairly impressive over the first two weeks, they are clearly in rebuilding mode. Taylor is still just 24 years old, so he can absolutely be a part of Green Bay’s rebuilding process.
A potential tandem of Love (who has obvious arm talent) and Taylor is interesting, to say the least, and if any of the Packers’ young receivers hit it big, Green Bay could have a very nice core of offensive talent moving forward.
This is not a Derrick Henry situation where you would probably only get one or two more great years out of him. In Jonathan Taylor’s case, you are looking at another five years of elite-level production provided that he can stay healthy.
