INDIANAPOLIS -- Jonathan Taylor had just made history, but after rewriting it, he refused to erase who he was writing over. So, while reflecting on his 83-yard touchdown run in the Indianapolis Colts' overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin last season -- which made Taylor the Colts' career leader in rushing touchdowns, surpassing Hall of Famer Edgerrin James -- Taylor tipped his cap to those who came before him.
"Not only Edge … but you just think about the guys who we've had in this organization beforehand," Taylor said. "To be named among those legends, it means a lot. I don't take it for granted."
Before Taylor, there was James. Before James, there was Marshall Faulk. Before Faulk, there was Eric Dickerson. Before Dickerson, there was Lenny Moore. Four of those five players are Hall of Famers, and Taylor may be on his way, too. But only two of them spent their entire careers with the Colts: Moore and, for now, Taylor.
Nearly a year after his herculean effort in Berlin lifted the Colts to an 8-2 record and put them atop the AFC, the franchise has crumbled under the weight of unfulfilled expectations amid a 2-6 start. Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon unofficially pulled the plug when she fired general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19, less than 24 hours after the Colts lost at home to the previously winless Tennessee Titans. The Titans had lost seven straight games dating to last season, and they'd dropped 11 straight in the AFC South.
Eight days later, after a narrow loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Irsay-Gordon effectively gave up on this season and turned her eyes toward the future by trading All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers. Nelson netted a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, while Buckner brought in a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Taylor should be next. Unlike Nelson and Buckner, who are on expiring deals, Taylor is under contract through the 2028 season, which presumably makes him the Colts' hottest commodity before Tuesday's trade deadline. However, the three-time Pro Bowler has not requested a trade, and he recently scoffed at the idea that the Colts have waved the white flag.
"You think we're rebuilding?" Taylor asked last week.
But how else could this be interpreted?
The Colts are obviously worse without Nelson and Buckner, a reality punctuated by the team's 35-point loss Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, Taylor ripped off a 19-yard run on his first carry but totaled just 4 yards on seven carries afterward. In fact, his eight carries are the fewest he's had in a game since 2023, which was the same year he returned from ankle surgery.
Some of Taylor's production, or lack thereof, can be excused by the 28-0 hole the Colts put themselves in by halftime. Handing the ball off to Taylor, as great as he is, wasn't going to spark a heroic comeback and end the Colts' now 12-game road losing streak against the Jaguars.
From a broader perspective, Sunday's beatdown wasn't just a reminder of the team's rebuild -- it was a reminder that Taylor shouldn't be part of it. The 2020 second-round pick has rushed for 8,208 yards since entering the NFL, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Henry during that span, yet the Colts don't have much to show for it.
When Taylor won the league's rushing title with 1,811 yards and earned a first-team All-Pro nod in 2021, the Colts failed to make the playoffs. When he overcame a high ankle sprain and still rushed for 1,431 yards across 14 games in 2024, the Colts failed to make the playoffs. When Taylor racked up 1,585 rushing yards and led the NFL with 20 total touchdowns in 2025, the Colts failed to make the playoffs.
To be clear, Indianapolis' five-year playoff drought is not Taylor's fault. He has mostly held up his end of the bargain while the infrastructure around him, most notably at quarterback, has not.
After fracturing his left fibula and rupturing his right Achilles tendon during a resurgent 2025 campaign, Daniel Jones has regressed into one of the NFL's worst starting quarterbacks this season. What's more, the Colts' offensive line has been leakier, even before Nelson was traded, and their wide receiver room -- which has been without deep threat Alec Pierce for more than a month due to a left heel injury -- can't create much separation.
All of these factors have made one thing abundantly clear: Taylor is no longer the starting piece for a new-look franchise. He's the finishing one for a contender.
"(When) Jonathan Taylor has the ball in his hands, there's a real threat to the defense that this ball could go the whole way," Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Tuesday. "You have to defend every gap in the run game. You have to make sure you know where he is in the passing game. If he gets into space, he creates a lot of problems for a defense. He has for years and years."
How many teams could use a player of that caliber? Well, according to The Athletic's Jonathan Jones, the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants are interested, among others.
Of course, the Colts would be thrilled to net a 2027 first-round pick for Taylor, since they no longer have one in the upcoming draft. Last season, Ballard sent Indy's 2026 and 2027 first-rounders, plus wide receiver AD Mitchell, to the New York Jets for All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. It's a decision the franchise likely regrets.
But realistically, it seems naive to think a team would fork over a first-rounder for Taylor, who is a supremely talented but aging running back with 1,699 career carries in the NFL.
Perhaps a more comparable package would be similar to what the 49ers gave up for fellow All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. In 2022, the 49ers sent the Carolina Panthers their 2023 second-, third- and fourth-round picks, as well as a 2024 fifth-rounder, in exchange for a 26-year-old McCaffrey.
If the Colts sniff a deal in that range for the 27-year-old Taylor, they would be wise to accept it and embrace the rebuild Irsay-Gordon has started.
Otherwise, we'll be in for a future that looks a lot like what unfolded Sunday, where the Colts gain nothing from losing with Taylor because they were too stubborn to see the bigger picture of losing without him.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
