As trade deadline nears, former teammate asks Colts to send Jonathan Taylor to a contender

With the NFL trade deadline set for 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, speculation is at its peak over the future of Indianapolis Colts All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor. Teams must complete trades for the rest of the season by that deadline, and with the Colts now positioned as sellers, all eyes are on Taylor.

The Colts have already established themselves as a team in rebuild mode. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has already given the nod to trade guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. She is now reportedly taking calls on Taylor as well as quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Josh Downs. But Taylor has been the centre of the trade buzz.

The question is whether Irsay-Gordon and interim general manager Ed Dodds will pull the trigger on a Taylor trade. That question was put to former Colts quarterback Nick Foles, who spoke candidly in an interview with OutKick. The interview looked ahead to his role as an analyst on Netflix for the first-ever NFL Thanksgiving Eve game later this month.

Foles said, "Man, now I have to put on a business mind, right?" As a teammate, he said, he would never trade Taylor because he knows what Taylor brings to the team as a leader and as a player. But viewed from the perspective of a personnel decision maker, the picture looks different.

In Foles's words, Taylor is getting older as a running back. And if a team in rebuild mode can get something of great value for him, such as a high draft pick, that decision can be justified. He said, "You are in rebuild. You've already shown that. I feel like you're going to do it. That pains me to say."

But if the Colts do decide to part ways with the 27-year-old running back, Foles had one request. He said emphatically, "Please send Jonathan to a team that's a contender. Give him that opportunity, right? Like he deserves that opportunity."

Foles added that if Taylor leaves, he will be dearly missed in Indianapolis because of the quality of human being, teammate and player he is. But he said he could understand the decision from a business perspective, in a rebuild, simply to get some draft capital.

If the Colts are going to trade Taylor, they reportedly want a steep asking price met, something like what the San Francisco 49ers gave the Carolina Panthers for Christian McCaffrey: a second-, third- and fourth-round pick in 2023 and a 2024 fifth-round pick in the famous 2022 deadline deal.

A contender with that kind of draft capital could justify the move knowing Taylor would be locked in through the 2028 season. It would not just be a trade for the 2026 campaign, but one with two years ahead of it before a possible extension.

Among the teams being aggressive on the trade market are the New York Giants. Led by John Harbaugh, the Giants own the top spot in the NFC East in his first season there, and they could use an elite running back now and for the future. The Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings have also been rumoured to be in the Taylor market, but the clock is ticking. Who will bend first, if at all, is what makes the deadline so intriguing for NFL fans.

Foles is looking forward to his duties on November 25, when the Los Angeles Rams take on the Green Bay Packers. He will join fellow former players Clay Matthews and Michael Irvin alongside Elle Duncan in the broadcast crew. U2 will celebrate 50 years together from the 50-yard line, performing at half-time with special guests. Teams will look different by then, and the coming weeks will show whether the deadline moves paid off.