Early on Wednesday, major news involving the trade discussions surrounding Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor was broken. While the Miami Dolphins were the top team interested, there was a “mystery team” that was reported to be pursuing the workhorse back. It has been reported that the Green Bay Packers were the second team pursuing a blockbuster trade with the Colts.
Along with the report that the Packers were the mystery team was a very strong statement that the trade discussions were “legitimate.”
While that report caused a major stir across the NFL, there is a new report that throws some water on the Taylor to the Packers fire.
Ryan Wood, a Packers’ reporter for PackersNews.com, stated very clearly that the talks never went past a scout from Green Bay talking to the Colts.
“A source told PackersNews that trade talks never materialized beyond a discussion the Colts had with a Packers scout. The Colts were open to a trade after Taylor entered camp in a contract dispute with the team before being placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list, which will prevent him from playing at least the first four games this season.”
Needless to say, Wood’s report is much different than the report that went viral about the Packers having serious discussions with the Colts. If all that happened was a scout from Green Bay talking to Indianapolis, there were never any real trade discussions between the two sides.
Granted, this doesn’t mean that the Packers and Colts aren’t discussing or interested in making something happen. Jonathan Taylor can still be traded and would likely still be of interest to any team that wanted to acquire him on Tuesday.
As for the Packers, it would be a strange move to make. Green Bay has star running back Aaron Jones and quality backup AJ Dillon already at the position. Taylor would be an upgrade over both, assuming he gets back to full health, but spending assets on Taylor would be a bit of a surprise.
Some have suggested that the Packers could offer a package centered around Dillon and draft capital. That would have to be interesting to the Colts, who could use another running back if they move on from Taylor.
Expect to continue hearing rumors coming out of Indianapolis about Taylor’s future. The Packers may or may not be seriously interested in acquiring him, but only time will tell. It’s certainly something to keep a close eye on.
