Indystar 8/22 What's next for Jonathan Taylor

[JAFF]

INDIANAPOLIS — The standoff between Jonathan Taylor and the Colts has reached a potential breaking point.

Three weeks after Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay said the team would not honor Taylor’s request to be traded, the Colts have reportedly given the running back permission to seek a trade, a significant move that can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Either the Colts have decided they’re better off without their star running back, or the team is hoping Taylor will get a firsthand glimpse at the crumbling running back market and decide he’s better off swallowing his desire for a contract extension and accept the risk of playing out the season without hope of the extension he wants.


For weeks, the two sides have been circling the trade request, little happening other than Taylor leaving the team twice, once for rehabilitation and once because of a personal matter.

But the NFL’s roster reduction to 53 players looms in a week, placing a deadline on the Colts and Taylor to resolve their dispute, one way or the other. With that in mind, here’s a look at what comes next.


Can Taylor find a trade partner?

The NFL has issued a resounding message this offseason.

NFL teams no longer value running backs, and they’re no longer willing to pay the position a lucrative second contract.

Minnesota released Dalvin Cook rather than trading (or playing) him. Las Vegas, Dallas and New York placed the franchise tag on Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard and Saquon Barkley, although Barkley later agreed to a slight adjustment, signing a one-year deal worth roughly the same as the tag. Cook and Ezekiel Elliott, a pair of former stars, had to wait until three weeks into training camp to sign incentive-laden deals with the Jets and Patriots, respectively.


The last big-name running back to be traded was Christian McCaffrey; San Francisco ponied up a second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023, plus a fifth-rounder in 2024, to land the former Carolina star, who remains under contract through the 2025 season. Indianapolis reportedly wants any package for Taylor to be bigger than the one the Panthers got for McCaffrey.

But it’s still possible that some team ponies up enough to get Taylor.


Taylor, 24, is only three seasons into his career; McCaffrey, 26 at the time of the trade, was in his sixth, and Cook, 28, had already played six years in Minnesota. Taylor is coming off an injury, but his medical history is also cleaner than McCaffrey’s or Cook's; the Panthers running back played in just 10 games over the course of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and Cook has a torn ACL in his past.

The contract hurdle might also be cleared if a team wants Taylor bad enough. Indianapolis has not offered a contract to Taylor at all, preferring to discuss an extension only after the season is over. If Taylor is willing to take a high-salary, short-term extension, something like the three-year, $36.6 million extension Nick Chubb signed in Cleveland in 2021, Taylor's new team could feel like it's minimizing long-term risk, and Taylor could feel like he'd been rewarded for his production so far.

And it sounds like there will be at least a few teams that think long and hard about bringing in the running back who set the Colts’ single-season rushing record with 1,811 yards and 20 touchdowns in an All-Pro 2021 season.

The Miami Herald reported Monday night that the Dolphins will explore a trade for Taylor, and there could be other suitors.

All it takes is one.


What if Taylor can’t find a suitor?

If no trade partner materializes, the 4 p.m. deadline to reduce the roster to 53 players on Aug. 29 represents the next potential breaking point for the Colts and their disgruntled running back.

Taylor has spent all training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list because of the ankle injury he had surgically repaired in January, according to Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen.



The Colts must decide by the deadline whether they will place Taylor on the reserve/PUP list, a significant move that would require Taylor to miss at least the first four games of the season. A player on the reserve/PUP list is paid his entire base salary — Taylor’s is $4,304,000 — and his contract can only be tolled (suspended until the following season) if “he is in the last year of his deal and he is both not able to perform football services as of the sixth regular season game and is not activated during (the) regular season or postseason,” according to the NFL.

If Indianapolis does not place Taylor on the reserve/PUP list, he would take up a spot on the 53-man roster and be available to play as soon as he’s healthy, the outcome the Colts said they preferred earlier this month and as recently as Steichen’s press conference on Sunday.

Who’s the next man up?

Taylor’s primary backup, Zack Moss, has missed most of training camp with a broken arm suffered in the early days at Grand Park, but he’s expected to be cleared right around the start of the regular season.


Third-year back Deon Jackson, rookie Evan Hull and veteran Kenyan Drake have shared snaps in camp in the absence of Taylor and Moss.

Indianapolis could also sign a veteran back. The Colts brought in Kareem Hunt, a veteran of the Chiefs and Browns, for a visit a week ago, and Hunt still has not signed with a team after visiting Indianapolis, New Orleans and Minnesota.

The Colts also have the No. 4 position in waiver priority, and Indianapolis could add a back from another roster after teams trim down to 53.

[JAFF]

Two surgeries, three teams later, James Washington makes big play on first day with Colts

INDIANAPOLIS — The first time James Washington looked up into the Lucas Oil Stadium lights, he couldn’t see the ball.

It was the kind of ball he’d been chasing for more than a year. A chance to prove that he’s back, that last fall’s broken foot and two surgeries are finally behind him, that he still has something to offer an NFL offense after a year-long odyssey that threatened to end his career.

First he was a Cowboy, then a Giant, then a Saint, and now he’d been a Colt for a little more than 24 hours, hoping to do something to catch his new team’s attention late in training camp.

But he couldn’t see the ball.

“Then I looked back up the field, heard the crowd and looked up,” Washington said. “And it’s just a perfect ball.”

Steelers wide receiver James Washington catches a touchdown against the Chiefs.
He let Sam Ehlinger’s moonshot settle into his hands for a 42-yard gain, the longest of the night for either team in a preseason game designed mostly for players on the edges of the roster to make a critical impression in the final weeks before roster cutdowns.

Washington’s first catch in an NFL game since 2021.


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It’s a fact that would have seemed unthinkable last July. A star at Oklahoma State, Washington was a second-round pick by the Steelers in 2018, then spent the next four seasons establishing himself as a big-play weapon, averaging 14.3 yards on 114 career catches in Pittsburgh, even if he didn’t quite live up to his second-round billing.

Washington followed up those four seasons by signing a one-year deal in Dallas, taking a low-cost, low-risk deal to play for a Cowboys team that had just lost Amari Cooper. A chance to carve out a role in his home state seemed there for the taking.


Then he broke his foot, fracturing his fifth metatarsal a week into training camp with the Cowboys.

Washington went through surgery. Fought his way back to the roster, eventually getting activated off injured reserve in December.

But his foot wasn’t healthy. Far from it.


“It didn’t feel right at all,” Washington said. “I didn’t feel explosive. I felt like I couldn’t run, so I knew something needed to be done, but I didn’t want it to be.”

Dallas released Washington a few weeks later and the Giants signed him to the practice squad.

New York ended up being the place he finally found relief. While he was playing for the Giants, Washington met with orthopedic surgeon Martin O’Malley, New York’s foot and ankle consultant.


Washington had been right. His foot was far from healthy.

O’Malley put the veteran receiver under the knife again, this time on Jan. 25, taking bone from Washington’s hip and grafting it onto his foot.

New York didn’t release Washington until March. He wasn’t fully healthy again until June, a month after he’d signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Frustrated by all the setbacks, Washington admits it felt like football was slipping away.

“God and family,” Washington said. “It felt like that was all I had at the time.”

Washington never found traction with the Saints. New Orleans targeted him twice in its preseason opener, then released him Aug. 15.

“It kind of feels like nobody wants you anymore, it’s a battle just trying to get back on the field,” Washington said. “And then somebody just gives you a chance.”

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The Colts picked him up Friday.

Indianapolis lost veteran wide receiver Ashton Dulin to a torn ACL last week, and the collection of veteran receivers the Colts have assembled hasn’t produced a clear front-runner for the roster spot Dulin was vacating.

“When guys go down, everyone is competing,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. “You bring bodies in, you’re constantly evaluating and seeing who those guys are going to be in the final cuts.”

Washington knows he doesn’t have much time, essentially only two preseason games and a single joint practice to make a big impression.

The first preseason game was happening the day after he’d signed in Indianapolis.

Washington spent almost all of that time working on the playbook, first with assistant coaches Reggie Wayne and Brian Bratton, then on into the night.

“I looked at it all night, talked to my wife on the phone at the same time,” Washington said. “It’s been a crazy few days.”

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The Colts coaches told Washington he’d be playing with third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

When Washington heard that, he had to smile. Ehlinger had played in the Big 12 at Texas; he’d know Washington’s skill set.

The two men spoke only once, right before the start of the game.

“Hey, if you need anything in the huddle, just ask me,” Ehlinger remembers telling Washington.

When he stepped to the line and saw Washington in one-on-one coverage, Ehlinger’s eyes brightened.

The veteran receiver had been right. Ehlinger remembered him, then lofted a perfect ball up into the night sky.

“I’d seen that go route thrown to him way too many times at Oklahoma State,” Ehlinger said. “I knew that he would go get it.”

Washington likely still has a lot of work to do to make the Colts’ initial 53-man roster.

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Four Indianapolis receiving spots seem set — Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Isaiah McKenzie — and how many more remain after that, according to Steichen, will likely come down to a player’s ability to contribute on special teams, in addition to the team’s need for outside help behind Pierce and Pittman Jr.

Washington knows what he can add to the mix.

“Fly down the field and run fast,” Washington said. “That’s really what I’ve done my whole life.”

And Saturday night’s catch proved he finally has that ability back.

[JAFF]

What Colts QB Anthony Richardson had to say about not playing vs. Bears, starting Thursday

PHILADELPHIA -- Anthony Richardson is going to see some more live reps before his first preseason is over.

The Colts will start the No. 4 overall pick at quarterback in Thursday's road exhibition against the Eagles, coach Shane Steichen announced Tuesday.

"He'll play on Thursday," Steichen said of Richardson, "and it will be a case-by-case with a lot of these guys. But a lot of the starters will get some reps."

The decision came after a joint practice with the Eagles in which Richardson went 4 of 8 with no touchdowns or interceptions in 11-on-11 settings. It was his first action since last week's joint practices against the Bears, as he sat out Saturday's preseason game despite being named the starting quarterback for the season earlier that week.

Moreoyel: Colts' 'plan' for QB Anthony Richardson includes letting him miss preseason game

Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson will start Thursday's preseason finale at the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I'm a competitor. I like to play," Richardson said. "But it also opened up my world for me. It taught me to be more of a leader, more of a vocal leader, to bring the energy for the squad if it's not there. It's a win-win for me either way."


Steichen said he felt that two days of joint practices against the Bears last week took the place of a game setting for Richardson and many other members of the first team. What's different this week is the Colts only had one joint practice with the Eagles, so the game can offer a second day of work.

More:Colts held Anthony Richardson out against Bears because of joint practice snaps


It remains to be seen what other starters play in this game. Steichen implied that it will depend on the number of reps the staff feels each player needs.

Josh Downs and Deon Jackson both saw more than a quarter of action against the Bears last week. On defense, outside cornerback Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker Jr. were the two starters who saw action.


The Colts got a couple starters back Tuesday who missed the joint practices last week, including defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (foot), center Ryan Kelly (foot). Tight ends Mo Alie-Cox (ankle) and Drew Ogletree (shoulder) also both practiced against the Eagles after missing significant time.

Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who trades first-team reps with Downs, exited Tuesday's practice with a right leg injury but came back for full reps later in the session.

Indianapolis will not have All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, who was on the sidelines for Tuesday's practice but is still on the Physically Unable to Perform List due to the ankle he injured last season. He is also seeking a trade.

More:What's next for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts now that he can seek a trade?

The Colts will also be without All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who is in the concussion protocol and did not make the trip to Philadelphia.

"It lets me know the things I have to correct myself," Richardson said facing the Eagles. "... That's a great team over there. They have great players over there. It lets me know how our levels match up against theirs and what we need to do to get to the Super Bowl.

"... I'm just trying to grind and eat away at greatness each day."