News emerged across the transactions aisleway on Tuesday that the Indianapolis Colts would not trade disgruntled star running back Jonathan Taylor before the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) deadline passed.
Players on the PUP list could be activated up until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Since the Colts have decided not to activate Taylor or trade him, he will remain on the PUP list. This means that he will miss the first four games of the upcoming 2023 season, regardless of whether he is traded or not.
The Colts did not feel as if they found a fair-value offer to trade Taylor to the Miami Dolphins, who showed significant interest in acquiring the All-Pro running back. And while Taylor has yet to be dealt and looks to be in Indianapolis, at least for the foreseeable future, news surfaced on Wednesday that the Dolphins weren’t the only team interested in acquiring Taylor.
As reported by ESPN’s Stephen Holder, the Green Bay Packers were also in talks with the Colts and had “legitimate interest in trading for the star running back.” That comes as a bit of a surprise considering that Green Bay has a formidable 1-2 punch of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillion in its backfield and recently handed out a long-term extension to the former.
Here is more from Holden, who says that despite Taylor being on the PUP list, a trade is not out of the realm of possibility:
But the Packers emerging as a contender remains relevant because Taylor can still be traded, even though he is on the reserve-physically unable-to-perform list and therefore must miss at least the first four games of the regular season.
A source told ESPN that there is still trade interest in Taylor and the All-Pro would still welcome a trade. The NFL’s trade deadline is Oct. 31.
Taylor and the Colts have been at odds over the former’s contract. The former Wisconsin Badgers star wants to be paid more than he is especially after his productive 2021 season. Taylor led the NFL in several categories that year, including rushing yards and touchdowns. But after an injury-riddled 2022, skepticism clearly emerged.
Speketicsm on whether he gets traded has emerged as well. But perhaps now that more than one team is involved, the likelihood of Taylor getting traded has increased.
[ESPN]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.