Indianapolis has sold two of its longest-tenured veterans this week, but Jonathan Taylor is a separate conversation. The Colts were offered a 2027 second-round pick plus another selection for their star running back and rejected it immediately, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported Saturday, a clear sign the 2-5 Colts aren’t treating the Nov. 10 trade deadline as a clearance sale.
That’s a firm stance from a front office that fired general manager Chris Ballard after a home loss to the then-winless Titans, then sent Quenton Nelson to Seattle and DeForest Buckner to San Francisco on the same Tuesday. For a fan base that just watched two cornerstones leave town, the message on Taylor is different.
Colts turned down a second-round offer for Jonathan Taylor
Pelissero wrote that the Colts aren’t in fire sale mode, even after the Nelson and Buckner deals. Taylor is 27, he’s the face of the franchise and he signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August. Indianapolis hasn’t told teams exactly what it wants for him, but a second-rounder and change wasn’t close enough to keep the phone line open.
Ownership appears to be part of that. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show” that his understanding is owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon doesn’t want to move Taylor, and Schefter left Taylor off his list of the Colts most likely to be traded.
The money is a factor, too. Trading Taylor before the deadline would leave about $17.6 million in dead money on the 2026 books, according to Over the Cap. An acquiring team would owe him about $4.866 million for the rest of this season, and his $15 million base salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed five days after the Super Bowl. Those contract details could decide how far a buyer is willing to go.
Taylor’s production still justifies a high price. He has 587 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 140 carries through seven games, plus 17 catches for 178 yards. His 4.2 yards per carry trails last season’s 4.9, when he ran for 1,585 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he has 17 carries of 10 or more yards, fourth among 44 qualifying backs, according to PFF.
Taylor’s next test comes at Jacksonville
Taylor knows the speculation isn’t going away. “Obviously, you guys know that I’m always proud to wear the horseshoe, proud to be here,” he told reporters Thursday, per ESPN’s Stephen Holder. He added that he hasn’t asked for a trade and hasn’t heard anything about one.
“Only thing I can control is rallying these guys in the locker room,” Taylor said, according to WISH-TV.
That job gets harder Sunday against the Jaguars, who rank fourth in the NFL in rush success rate allowed at 34.4%, according to rbsdm.com. Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun leads Jacksonville with 42 tackles and has a 68.7 run-defense grade from PFF, and Taylor will do it without Nelson in front of him after running for 95 yards in last week’s loss at Minnesota.
Every loss also feeds the Jets, who own Indianapolis’ 2027 first-round pick. That’s what makes the Taylor decision so heavy. Without its own first, cashing in its best player is one of the quickest ways for Indianapolis to add premium draft capital, and the Colts are still saying no.
A deal can still happen. Pelissero noted the Colts won’t move Taylor for anything less than a premium haul, and another loss in Jacksonville, with Josh Downs’ trade request already public, would give interim general manager Ed Dodds more reason to listen. Any team calling over the next 10 days now knows where the bidding starts, and it’s well above a second-round pick.
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