Indianapolis' attempts to solicit a significant offer for running back Jonathan Taylor have fallen flat, making for an interesting season ahead for the team and player.
The Colts will keep Taylor on the physically unable to perform list, indicating a trade involving the star running back is not imminent, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday, per sources. The team later announced Taylor officially was placed on the PUP list.
Taylor will miss the at least first four games of the 2023 season due to starting the campaign on PUP.
Indianapolis granted Taylor, who was seeking an extension ahead of his final season under contract, permission to seek a trade eight days ago after initially refusing to take calls on the running back after he requested a trade in July. The increase in communication ultimately did not produce an enticing offer for the running back, though, and with the cutdown deadline arriving at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the Colts decided to keep Taylor on PUP instead of occupying a roster spot.
Taylor first requested a trade following a meeting with Colts owner Jim Irsay, and spent the entirety of the preseason on PUP after undergoing offseason ankle surgery. He stepped away from the team briefly during camp before returning, then was excused from camp due to a personal matter. Taylor was seen in street clothes at the Colts' joint practices with the Eagles last week on the same day in which the team granted him permission to seek a trade.
Despite this back-and-forth between appearing at the team facility and stepping away during camp, and Indianapolis' vacillation between refusing to trade him and then considering it, little significant movement has occurred regarding Taylor's standing with the club. Tuesday's news means he won't be available to head coach Shane Steichen for the first month of the season.
We'll see if the two sides ever mend fences and find a way to work together in 2023 -- or if their divorce is only a matter of time.