It appears that Jonathan Taylor's time with the Colts may be coming to an end.
After a lengthy feud between the team and the talented running back, the Colts reportedly are permitting Taylor to seek a trade away from the club.
The discord between Taylor and the Colts comes largely as a result of a contract dispute between the two parties. Taylor is looking for a lucrative, multi-year extension that the Colts have evidently been reluctant to give.
Additionally, Colts owner Jim Irsay made matters worse when he posted his thoughts about the NFL's running back market on X, formerly known as Twitter. That drew the ire of Taylor's agent, Malki Kawa, who quipped back at Irsay for not paying his best offensive player.
MORE: Jonathan Taylor's agent responds to Jim Irsay's 'bad faith' comments
Tensions continued to build from there, with Taylor choosing to rehab an injury of his away from Colts training camp. Shortly after his return, he was excused from the facility once again for what Indianapolis deemed "personal reasons."
So, it isn't clear at what point things fell apart in the Taylor saga, but it does appear that the two sides are heading for a split. That might not come quickly, however, as the Colts are looking to retain value commensurate with at least a first-round pick in exchange for Taylor, per ESPN's Stephen Holder.
Source: The Colts are seeking a first-round pick -- or package of picks that equates to as much -- in a potential Jonathan Taylor trade.
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) August 21, 2023
Which teams could be willing to give up that sort of value for Taylor? The NFL's running back market may be a bit depressed, but there are still plenty of teams that would be happy to land a back of Taylor's caliber ahead of the 2023 NFL season.
Here's a breakdown of his most likely suitors.
Jonathan Taylor landing spots
Chicago Bears
Currently, the Bears are set to rely on the trio of Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson to carry its backfield. There is certainly upside with this unit, and Herbert has looked good during the preseason, but Taylor would be a more proven commodity for this backfield.
Chicago has spent the 2023 offseason building around third-year quarterback Justin Fields, but the team still has $15.5 million in cap space available, per Spotrac.com. With Fields still on his rookie contract, the Bears can afford to pay Taylor and doing so would give them one of the strongest rushing attacks in the NFL between Fields' scrambling ability and Taylor's between-the-tackles ability.
Also noteworthy: the Bears ran the ball on a league-high 56.2 percent of their snaps in 2023. A lot of that derived from Fields' passing plays that turned into scrambles, but there's no denying that Chicago would get the most out of his services.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are another team with a good-looking stable of running backs. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. fared well in Mike McDaniel's offense last season while rookie De'Von Achane was a third-round pick by the team in the 2023 NFL Draft.
That said, Miami did express some interest in adding Dalvin Cook to its backfield before he signed with the Jets. So, they might be in the market for an upgrade at the right cost and Taylor would be able to provide them with that.
Also, Taylor has a better track record carrying a full workload than Mostert and Wilson. Neither back has ever handled more than 200 carries in an NFL season; Taylor's career-high is 332 in 2021. That could be of value, especially with Achane nursing a shoulder injury.
MORE: De'Von Achane injury update
Philadelphia Eagles
Never count Eagles general manager Howie Roseman out of a trade to upgrade his team. The Eagles only have $6.4 million of cap space, but with a couple of smart restructures, Roseman could free up the room to acquire Taylor.
Taylor would give the Eagles a clear-cut No. 1 running back, something they don't have on the roster now. The team could probably find success with a committee approach featuring D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell; but Taylor would give them a true three-down back to pair with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and an elite offensive line to take the offense to the next level.
Not only would getting Taylor be intriguing, but it would also eliminate any injury concerns that Philadelphia would have about its backfield. Swift and Penny have struggled to stay healthy during their NFL careers. Taylor missed six games last season, but with a lighter carry load and quality backups, he should have an easier time staying on the field.
Baltimore Ravens
At some point, the Ravens need to stop hoping that J.K. Dobbins is healthy and actually see him get and stay on the field. Perhaps that will be this year, but if the Ravens don't feel like waiting and seeing, they could go get Taylor.
Pairing Taylor with Lamar Jackson would instantly create a rushing attack that few NFL teams would be able to stop. That may have been a better fit for previous offensive coordinator Greg Roman's system, but Todd Monken would find a way to effectively get Taylor touches.
And hey, Monken might be happy to have a running back available to take on a bulk of the touches and keep Jackson from scrambling too much. That might help the 2019 MVP stay healthier than he has over the past two seasons.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals lost Samaje Perine to the Broncos during the offseason and it doesn't seem like they were overly happy with Joe Mixon's performance last season (210 carries, 814 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground). They spent a fifth-round pick on Illinois' Chase Brown to challenge Mixon but Taylor would be a sure-fire replacement for the Oklahoma product.
Having Taylor on an offense with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd would be incredible. The only question would then become, will the Bengals be able to pay Taylor, Chase and Higgins? That would be the main factor that would hold up this deal.
MORE: Why Joe Mixon has been named in civil suit over March shooting of neighbor
Kansas City Chiefs
Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon formed an effective backfield for the Chiefs en route to a Super Bowl victory last season. Kansas City is going to run it back with that duo, but if they could get Taylor, that would add another layer to their already unstoppable offense.
The only issue with a Taylor-to-the-Chiefs trade is that Kansas City doesn't have any cap space at the moment. That said, if they really wanted to acquire Taylor as they look to further the AFC arms race, they could ask Patrick Mahomes to restructure his contract to make that happen. Better yet, they could even extend him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are getting ready to usher in the post-Tom Brady era with Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask as their starting quarterbacks. That doesn't sound too inspiring, but neither does trusting Rachaad White to lead the team's backfield after he averaged 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie.
Taylor would instantly become the focal point of the Tampa Bay offense and his presence would take some pressure off the passing game. That may allow Mayfield and Trask to find the likes of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin open more easily, especially off play-action.
Like the Chiefs, the Buccaneers have negligible cap space. Unlike the Chiefs, they have less incentive to make room for Taylor, as they don't appear to be real contenders in the NFC without Brady. But if Todd Bowles and Jason Licht see an opening in the wide-open NFC South race, chasing Taylor would be a way to bolster their chances of competing for a division title.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams may not look like an obvious landing spot for Taylor, but the team's relationship with Cam Akers grew contentious last season. Behind Akers, the team doesn't have a lot of depth at running back, so adding Taylor — perhaps at the cost of Akers — could be a sensible move for the Rams to help ease Matthew Stafford into the twilight of his career.
Also noteworthy, the Rams haven't used a first-round selection since 2016 when they selected Jared Goff No. 1 overall. They tend to trade their first-round picks for impact players, so if Les Snead and Sean McVay like Taylor enough, they may be willing to pay the price to make a deal happen.
