Payton Dismisses Taylor Trade Rumors As ‘Internet Gossip’

The Denver Broncos are being strongly connected to Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor in trade rumors, and the fan base and local media is absolutely over the moon about this. Taylor could be the final piece of the puzzle that puts Denver over the top, but coach Sean Payton isn’t exactly thrilled by this, according to Sam Jane of the Denver Post. 

Payton dismissed the rumors about Taylor as “internet gossip,” which is laughable and then some when it comes to what’s happening here. Taylor will almost certainly be traded by the deadline next week based on what’s been reported so far, and Payton absolutely knows that this is anything but internet gossip. 

His answer was both boilerplate and generic, which is the opposite of what Payton usually says, and it also says a lot about there being some fire to go with the smoke here.

“You’re asking me a question about gossip. [GM] George (Paton) and I will spend time looking at the team and anywhere we can improve it, but I’m not going to answer questions about internet gossip,” Payton said. 

One small problem here: The writers who have been reporting this are some of the most connected in the business, and they’d completely lose their credibility if they were reporting internet gossip. That’s not to say they don’t do that now and then, but this isn’t one of those times. 

The Colts are holding a fire sale, and Taylor is available. That’s not a verifiable fact yet, but it’s about as close as you can get when it comes to how this rumor-parry-thrust game goes. 

The Broncos have been linked strongly to Taylor since the Colts started their fire sale, per Jane, and the Colts were just embarrassed by their division rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, in a 42-7 rout. 

Taylor said he hasn’t heard anything, but that’s ridiculous, too. His agent surely has, and he’s almost certainly getting daily updates behind the scenes. 

The one development that may slow down the rumor mill -- oops, sorry, that should have been “internet gossip” — is the recent play of rookie running back Jonah Coleman, who’s been supplying both steady performance and big plays. 

But the Broncos are also down two running backs right now, with Tyler Badie and RJ Harvey both having been placed on IR in the last two weeks. That means a move of some sort is coming, so the big question right now is whether it’s a depth signing or a big swing for a player like Taylor.