No, Cardinals Shouldn't Pursue Jonathan Taylor

The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for their final taste of preseason action this week as the team travels up north to battle the Minnesota Vikings.

There's plenty of talk around the Cardinals' roster and specific position battles. Arizona won't officially announce their starters until after preseason action concludes, and though most spots are locked for good, competitions at ILB, CB and perhaps even QB are still being evaluated.

One area of concern has been the lack of depth in Arizona's rushing attack. That's no slap to the face of the talents of James Conner - who has been nothing short of productive when healthy - though there's concerns of his potential over-usage given his injury history.

Behind him are Corey Clement, Keaontay Ingram, Ty'Son Williams and Emari Demercado - none of which have jumped off the page as Arizona's RB2. In an offense that will seemingly emphasize establishing the run under new OC Drew Petzing, having a reliable second option behind Conner benefits the team all around.

The Cardinals don't quite have that - though a recent big name just became available on the trade market.

The Indianapolis Colts have officially placed RB Jonathan Taylor on the trade market after the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. Taylor was just one of many running backs to be involved in a massive stare-down with the league in terms of financial inequality at the position over the summer.

Taylor is one of the more notable backs in the league after a monster 2021 season where he rushed for 1,811 yards (league-high that season) and 18 touchdowns, both of which set franchise records.

He's sure to amass a great deal of interest, though the Cardinals simply shouldn't pursue Taylor for a handful of reasons.

We can start with what the Colts are asking for Taylor - which is a first-round pick or the equivalent in capital of one. Dealing something anywhere close in that ballpark for a running back with tread already on his tires - with younger running backs consistently coming through the draft - simply doesn't make for good business, especially when you're rebuilding like the Cardinals have done.

Then comes the cost: Saquon Barkley settled for a contract just above the one-year, $10 million franchise tag he refused to sign. Other big names such as Ezekiel Elliot signed a deal worth up to $6 million with incentives while Dalvin Cook inked a deal worth up to $8.6 million.

Taylor's ideal contract - according to one source who spoke with The Athletic's Dianna Russini - will be "the challenge" with a trade. He has been quite adamant he's not playing on that short of a financial leash.

Again, not smart for the Cardinals to spend upwards of $10 million on one running back while there's still plenty of other valuable holes to fill.

Then, you take into account Taylor's recent injury history. He's still on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after dealing with ankle issues last season that caused him to play in just 11 games while landing on IR to finish the year.

If Taylor isn't fully healthy - which by all accounts he isn't at this point in time - that simply wouldn't be worth the price to bring him to a Cardinals backfield that already has one back with injury concerns.

Yes, Taylor is a great running back who hopefully has many more great and productive seasons ahead. Whether he gets the contract he wants is entirely up to whatever team wants to bite the bullet.

That team - for a wealth of reasons - simply shouldn't be the Cardinals at this point time. Perhaps if Arizona was more readily able to contend for a deep playoff push, but those days are seemingly far away.