The Indianapolis Colts essentially responded to Jonathan Taylor’s reported trade request with a non-verbal threat.
“That is how complicated this has gotten. This is how nasty this has gotten,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport shared Monday on the network’s “Inside Training Camp Live.”
“There aren’t too many instances of teams going so public with essentially a campaign against their best player. There’s not a lot of precedence for this. … We’ll see where this goes from here, but these bridges, they’re burning.”
After meeting with Colts owner Jim Irsay, Taylor confirmed he wanted out of Indianapolis, according to multiple reports. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Irsay said the organization has no intention of extending him before next season. Irsay’s comments about the running back market, which prompted a Twitter spat with Taylor’s representative, and Irsay’s bizarre follow-up comments about Taylor surely have aided in the 2021 rushing champion’s discontent.
The fact the Colts now have essentially threatened to put Taylor on the non-football injury list with what the team deems a back injury suffered away from the football field has made the situation even more complicated. Taylor refuted rumors about any prior-existing back injury. Should Indianapolis put Taylor on NFI it would mean he does not get paid for the 2023-24 campaign and the season would not count as a year on his contract.
It would have a massive on-field impact should Taylor and the Colts not be able to settle their differences. Indianapolis, who is +550 to win the division as of Monday, is far better with Taylor on the field. And all things considered, it’s no sure thing he’ll be there starting in September.
Bettors and fantasy football players would be impacted, too. It’s why they should continue to pay attention to the ongoing drama, much like oddsmakers have.
FanDuel Sportsbook moved Taylor from 25-1 to 40-1 to win Offensive Player of the Year since last month. At the time he was 25-1, Taylor had the eighth-best odds and second-best odds among running backs. He now is tied for the 19th-best odds and currently is tied with running backs Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall, Tony Pollard and Saquon Barkley behind headliners like Christian McCaffery and Nick Chubb.
It’s a notable view on a player who was second in Offensive Player of the Year voting just two seasons ago after recording 2,100 yards of offense with 20 touchdowns.
Taylor’s fantasy stock could be impacted as well. A consensus No. 1 overall pick entering last season, Taylor’s new quarterback already figured to impact his production. Because if Anthony Richardson starts for Indianapolis, Taylor’s goal-line looks might be impacted, as well as his receiving workload. That was all true before the previous week of events.
But now there’s even more reason for fantasy managers to proceed with caution, especially if Taylor is sidelined with either the ankle injury which caused him to fail his physical or more so because of his unhappiness with the Colts. Taylor being traded probably would be the best option for his fantasy stock. But that’s a notion Irsay has shot down, as well.
