After initial reluctance, the Indianapolis Colts allowed Jonathan Taylor to discuss potential trades with other teams. The deadline to find such a deal was Tuesday. The Colts entertained multiple offers but ultimately decided to keep Taylor, who will begin the season on the PUP list and miss at least four weeks.
Indianapolis will reopen the phone lines eventually, but for now Taylor is stuck with the Colts. No team expressed more blatant interest in Taylor than the Miami Dolphins, who spent the summer trying to lure Dalvin Cook to South Beach before his decision to sign with Aaron Rodgers in New York.
The Dolphins have a pair of competent veteran running backs in Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., as well as third-round pick De'Von Achane, but the AFC is a bloodbath. Especially the AFC East. The absence of a true star runner stands out for a Miami squad eager to take the next step.
Miami will probably attempt to acquire Taylor later in the season, but it will require more reasonable negotiations from the Colts. Indianapolis has declined to engage in long-term contract talks with Taylor, but that hasn't stopped Jim Irsay and company from making absurd demands for the 2021 NFL rushing leader.
Indianapolis Colts ask absurd price from Miami Dolphins in Jonathan Taylor trade talks
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Indianapolis made "wild" requests from Miami, which included Jaylen Waddle and more.
That is patently absurd of course. Even in a normal market, there's no way the Dolphins would sacrifice a player of Waddle's caliber in exchange for Taylor. The goal is to add Taylor to Miami's elite collection of skill players, not to hollow out that collection of skill players to make room for Taylor.
Waddle is one of the NFL's most explosive offensive playmakers. He totaled 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns on 75 receptions last season. His 18.1 yards per catch was the highest mark in the NFL. Waddle is a perpetual big-play engine, blessed with an seemingly telepathic connection to Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.
While one could argue that Taylor would be more essential to the Dolphins' offense in a vacuum — Tyreek Hill is WR1 and Taylor would operate as a three-down workhorse behind Tagovailoa — Waddle's ability to stretch the defense downfield, paired with Hill's own singular speediness, is what made the Dolphins so potent last season. The passing attack would lose a considerable bit of juice without Waddle.
And, as has been made abundantly clear by the summer's free agent outcomes, the running back market is not normal right now. Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs barely made more than the franchise tag. Taylor is 24 years old and only one season removed from leading the NFL in total yards (2,171) and touchdowns (20), but even the best backs aren't getting paid.
The Dolphisn should make every effort (within reason) to acquire Taylor. He's a dominant runner who can moonlight as a pass-catcher and add more short-yardage variety to the Dolphins' offense. He's argubaly the best RB in football at full strength. Even then, the Dolphins probably aren't much more eager than Indy to sign him to a lucrative long-term contract. The disparity in perceived value between receivers and running backs right now is oceanic. There was never even the remotest of chances that Miami was going to fork over Waddle, a former No. 6 pick.
The Colts-Taylor drama has only just started. The NFL season kicks off in less than two weeks. Taylor won't be on the field for Indianapolis in Week 1 — or maybe ever again. The question is, when do we see him in new threads? And, are those threads colored in the turquoise and orange of Miami?