A hypothetical trade proposal would send one of the Indianapolis Colts' best players to an unlikely destination.
Over the last year and a half, the Indianapolis Colts have been aggressive about making win-now moves.
They signed quarterback Daniel Jones (and then re-signed him again). They also re-signed wide receiver Alec Pierce and added defensive backs Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward Sr., and Cam Bynum.
Those moves have all been with immediate assistance in mind, so when Bleacher Report recently presented a trade proposal involving the Colts that would deal away arguably their best player, it raised some eyebrows.
Author Alex Kay proposed that the Colts send running back Jonathan Taylor to the Tennessee Titans, a rival in the AFC South. Kay writes:
- Colts receive: 2027 second- and third-round draft picks, 2028 third-round draft pick
- Titans receive: RB Jonathan Taylor
"The Indianapolis Colts employ one of the NFL's top talents in Jonathan Taylor, but the superstar running back could provide more value to the organization as a trade chip than on the field at this juncture of his career."
In theory, Taylor is one of the few Colts players who could garner serious trade value. However, Indy needs to win right now, and they need their best skill-position player to do that. General manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen likely don't have time to think about the future and the draft picks involved.
"While Taylor has been a high-level contributor and key to Indianapolis' success, he's entering his seventh season and has racked up a ton of mileage since entering the league," Kay said. "Only Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs have more touches than the 1,738 combined receptions and carries that Taylor has logged in that span."
While Taylor does have three seasons with 300-plus touches, the Colts will likely need to run him rampant again in 2026. They have DJ Giddens and Seth McGowan as backups, but neither inspires the confidence at this point to take Taylor off the field for long.
"Taylor has posted consistently strong stat lines during his time in Indianapolis, but the Colts haven't found a way to convert that production into victories. The team is 41-42-1 in games the back has appeared in and has made the playoffs just once during his tenure—a Wild Card Round loss during Taylor's rookie season."
Truthfully, Taylor's excellence hasn't translated to broad success for the Colts. However, they are in a much better place as a team when Taylor is productive versus when he's out of the lineup or held in check. He is an enormous part of their weekly process.
Taylor will also need to be relied upon to help carry the offense as Jones makes his return from Achilles surgery. Jones should be back for Week 1, but realistically, his athleticism will be compromised, which puts a premium on having talent around him.
"With Taylor set to be a free agent next offseason, the Colts could get ahead of a potential departure by dealing him for draft capital," Kay writes. "There are plenty of hopeful contenders with a hole in the backfield that would love to add a star like Taylor into the mix, a list of suitors that could be headlined by the Tennessee Titans."
Taylor's contract is an interesting situation for the Colts. On the one hand, you always try to reward your best players. However, running backs are one of the greatest diminishing assets on a roster.
Next offseason, Taylor will be 28 years old and likely coming off a third consecutive season with 300-plus touches. The Colts may want him back if he remains healthy, but Taylor could want the security of a lucrative multi-year contract, whereas it's not always in a team's best interest to go there with a running back at that age.
As for Taylor's potential destination in Kay's trade proposal, Taylor is viewed as a missing piece that takes the young Titans up a notch and into the postseason.
"Tennessee is hoping to emerge from a lengthy rebuilding period in Year 2 of the Cam Ward era. With a new regime at the reins, acquiring a piece like Taylor could push this offense over the top and into the playoffs. Tennessee innately understands just how good Taylor is, having given up more rushing touchdowns (nine) to him than any other team.
"The Titans are fresh off bolstering the receiving corps with first-round rookie Carnell Tate and free-agent pickup Wan'Dale Robinson, but a rushing platoon headlined by Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears remains stagnant and still leaves something to be desired.
"Tennessee would likely need to give up several early- to mid-round picks to get a deal done with an AFC South rival, but it would give the franchise a perfect complement to Ward and its best backfield threat since Henry's departure in 2024."
While the Colts trading a significant player during a contract year isn't farfetched, Taylor garnering that sort of compensation, and being sent to a division rival on top of that, is firmly unlikely.
