Week 5 saw the return of Jonathan Taylor to the Colts’ lineup, after he agreed to a three-year extension over the weekend. That deal marked an end to the questions surrounding his future in Indianapolis, and confirmed a lack of interest on the part of other teams with respect to acquiring him. 
Taylor’s trade request – borne out of the team’s decision not to engage in extension talks – was initially denied, but in time the 2021 rushing champion was allowed to seek out a deal sending him elsewhere. The teams most closely linked with Taylor were the Dolphins and Packers, both of which were reported to be willing to pay him at or near the top of the market. That ended up being the case for the former second-rounder, but his $42MM pact came from Indianapolis after trade talks slowed down.
As The Athletic’s Dianna Russini confirms, the Colts did not receive any firm offers or engage in “serious conversations” regarding a potential Taylor swap (subscription required). Indianapolis was believed to have included wideouts Jaylen Waddle and Christian Watson in their asking price for hypothetical deals with Miami and Green Bay, respectively. To no surprise, those players proved to be non-starters. Another factor which represented a barrier to a deal getting done, of course, was Taylor’s contract status.
2023 marks the final year of the Wisconsin alum’s rookie contract, meaning he would have needed to be franchise tagged or signed to a multi-year extension by an acquiring team to justify sending draft capital to the Colts to finalize a trade. Indianapolis initially set the price at a first-round pick (or a package of similar value), but that later came down as the relationship between team and player seemed to be beyond saving. Instead, Taylor’s return to practice paved the way for a warming of relations and an agreement being struck which will seem him earn $26.5MM in guaranteed money. Russini notes that the commitment required on a new deal, rather than the cost of a trade, was the main roadblock to a swap being worked out.
With Taylor having secured the third-highest AAV ($14MM) amongst running backs, it will be interesting to see if the position’s market can rebound in the coming free agent period after seeing its downward trend continue in 2023. With a long list of notable names on expiring contracts, though, it would come as a surprise if teams spent considerable resources at the RB spot, as their aversion to acquiring Taylor illustrated.