The developing situation with the Indianapolis Colts and their running back, Jonathan Taylor, has garnered a lot of headlines. The relationship between the two sides seems to have eroded beyond repair as general manager Chris Ballard has made it clear an extension won’t be coming for Taylor.
Owner Jim Irsay has also said some bizarre comments recently about the situation, which won’t help repair the frayed relationship. A trade remains a possibility, but Irsay has also said that the team won’t move their star running back.
Taylor seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place like many of his peers at running back. This offseason saw the bottom fall out of the market as Tony Pollard, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs all received the franchise tag and no long-term deal worked out prior to the deadline.
The largest deal signed by a running back was Miles Sanders joining the Carolina Panthers on a four-year deal that pays just over $6 million annually. Franchises have devalued the running back position, believing they can plug and play anyone into the spot to find success.
The best that Taylor can do is go out there in 2023, and prove he is healthy and able to produce at a high level, that 2021 wasn’t a fluke. But, even that plan has some flaws as pointed out by radio host Colin Cowherd.
During a recent episode of his show, The Herd on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio, Cowherd revealed one issue working against Taylor when it comes to earning an extension with the Colts. Indianapolis has no incentive to hand him a long-term deal with the change in game plan that is on the horizon once Anthony Richardson takes over as the starting quarterback.
“Why do they need to give Jonathan Taylor an extension? Anthony Richardson is going to gobble up 20-25% of his rushing yards,” Cowherd said.
Cowherd makes a great point in reference to how much the Colts’ offense is going to change compared to 2021 when Taylor led the NFL in rushing yardage. Richardson’s best asset right now is his rushing ability and it will be what gets him on the field, even if it is only in a part-time capacity, in the early going.
Standing a towering 6’4” and weight 234 pounds with elite athleticism, the Colts would be doing themselves a disservice not working Richardson into the lineup for packages early in the season. For every running play that Richardson has designed for him, it is one less play that the ball will be in Taylor’s hands.
From the Colts’ perspective, why pay a player in Taylor, at a non-premium position, when you have someone set to take a large chunk of his work? That is just one of the many things working against the Wisconsin product’s hopes of landing a long-term deal in Indianapolis.
