The Indianapolis Colts are in a very tough spot after failing to trade running back Jonathan Taylor, and it sounds like GM Chris Ballard knows it.
Ballard spoke to the media on Wednesday a day after the Colts’ deadline for a Taylor trade passed, with no deal materializing. The GM said the situation “sucks” for everyone involved, and suggested that the team would like to try to repair its relationship with the star running back.
"The situation sucks. It sucks for the Colts, it sucks for Jonathan Taylor, and it sucks for the fans. It's where we're at, and we're gonna work through it … relationships are reparable."
— Colts GM Chris Ballard on the Jonathan Taylor situation
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 30, 2023
Colts GM Chris Ballard sounds frustrated, and even a little conflicted: "I don't want the indication that we do not want Jonathan Taylor. That is not true." Says he's not talked to Taylor in the last couple days, but Shane Steichen has, and he plans to reach out.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 30, 2023
“The situation sucks. It sucks for the Colts, it sucks for Jonathan Taylor, and it sucks for the fans,” Ballard said. “It’s where we’re at, and we’re gonna work through it … Relationships are reparable.”
Ballard was put under some pressure when he was asked why the Colts would not just pay Taylor if they valued him so highly.
Good follow from @RomeovilleKid, asking Chris Ballard why the team didn’t wanna pay Jonathan Taylor now, despite Ballard repeating his mantra “you pay great players.”
“Then why not pay him?”
Ballard: “We won four games last year. We won four games.”
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) August 30, 2023
“We won four games last year. We won four games,” Ballard said.
Taylor is unhappy with his current contract, and requested a trade after the Colts signaled that they would not give him the long-term deal he is seeking. However, their asking price does not seem to have been realistic, leaving the team with an unhappy player facing a murky long-term future.
Taylor has already been placed on the PUP list and will miss at least the first four games of the season. The 24-year-old running back is coming off an injury-hit 2022, but he ran for 1,811 yards in 2021.
