The Indianapolis Colts value Jonathan Taylor too much to trade him for anything below their demands, but they also passed on giving him a long-term extension.
Taylor requested a trade after the Colts declined to offer a new contract. After not finding a deal before Tuesday’s roster deadline, the All-Pro running back will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s James Boyd asked Chris Ballard why the Colts didn’t extend Taylor despite the general manager saying, “You pay great players.” Ballard pointed to his organization’s shortcomings in 2022.
“We won four games last year,” Ballard said, via The Athletic’s Zak Keefer.
Good follow from @RomeovilleKid, asking Chris Ballard why the team didn’t wanna pay Jonathan Taylor now, despite Ballard repeating his mantra “you pay great players.”
“Then why not pay him?”
Ballard: “We won four games last year. We won four games.”
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 30, 2023
The Colts won two games without Taylor earlier in the season, but they lost their final three without him. That’s not even counting the biggest blown lead in NFL history, a game in which the star back left early.
It’s also not Taylor’s fault the organization decided to hire ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday as an interim head coach despite having no coaching experience at the pro or college level. They went 1-7 behind the former Colts center.
While the two sides remain at odds, Ballard insisted that the relationship is “repairable.”
“The situation sucks. It sucks for the Colts, it sucks for Jonathan Taylor, and it sucks for the fans,” he said. “It’s where we’re at, and we’re gonna work through it.”
Taylor will miss at least the first four games of the 2023 season on the PUP list. After that, the Colts will only have a few weeks to trade him before the Oct. 31 trade deadline.