This offseason has been a tumultuous one for the Indianapolis Colts. They have taken centerstage recently amidst the running back market situation, reaching a stalemate with their star, Jonathan Taylor.
Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Taylor was interested in what kind of extension he could receive from the team. The Colts made their stance clear at the onset of training camp that no deal would be offered.
Seemingly as a response to that, Taylor was placed on the physically unable to play list because of his ankle. The Colts said that he was also dealing with a back injury, but Taylor disputed that. He ended up leaving training camp to rehab his ankle off-site.
His return didn’t last very long, as he received an excused absence from camp days after returning. In between all of that, a trade request was made by the Wisconsin product, which the Colts denied. However, their tune has changed recently.
Indianapolis granted Taylor permission to seek a trade this week. However, they aren’t going to just give him away. They are seeking premium assets in return, as they want a first-round pick. So, long story short, the Colts don’t want to pay Taylor a top-of-the-market contract but expect teams to offer a top-of-the-market package to acquire him.
The Carolina Panthers didn’t even receive a first-round pick in exchange for Christian McCaffrey last season; it is hard to envision the Colts getting their wish. The whole situation has brought out plenty of opinions from people, with Colin Cowherd recently joining the fray.
Cowherd ripped into the franchise for how they have handled this situation during a recent episode of his show, The Herd, on FS1 and Fox Sports. “Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck — the further away they get in the rearview mirror, the crazier and the loonier this franchise appears to be,” Cowherd said as part of his response to Taylor’s future with the Colts.
It is certainly hard to argue against what he has said. The Colts have been searching for some stability at the quarterback position for years, as they started a different quarterback in Week 1 for seven straight seasons. It will be eight when Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, takes the field in a few weeks as the starter.
Hopefully, he will bring that continuity to the position that the franchise has been looking for. Cowherd is certainly correct; without Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, the Colts have looked like a rudderless ship.
