Colts Involved in Blockbuster Trade Proposal
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Whether they'd like to admit it or not, the Indianapolis Colts appear closer to rebuilding than they are in postseason contention.
As a result, arguably no player is untouchable when it comes to being dealt for valuable assets, such as high draft picks.
With that being the case, Pro Football Focus' Marcus Mosher has circled five possible trade proposals that could shake up the NFL offseason. Involved in this is the Colts — hypothetically, of course — sending running back Jonathan Taylor to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for at least their early second-round pick.
RB JONATHAN TAYLOR TO LOS ANGELES RAMS
The Rams were reportedly in the Christian McCaffrey sweepstakes before the San Francisco 49ers landed him ahead of the trade deadline. Could this be the offseason where the Rams try to upgrade their running back position once and for all? The Rams are notoriously aggressive, and it seems like Sean McVay would like to make one more run with Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald.
So what about a Taylor trade? Taylor is entering the final year of his contract, so the Indianapolis Colts might want to avoid making him the league's highest-paid running back, as they are set to begin a rebuild. Could the Rams flip the No. 37 pick in this year's draft, along with some other filler picks, to get the best pure running back in the league?
This isn't the wisest move for the Rams, but given their history and the fact that they tried to acquire McCaffrey last year, it makes some sense. Putting Taylor on this offense with the rest of their weapons would be a ton of fun to watch.
At first glance, Taylor, who led the NFL in rushing by a huge, 552-yard margin in 2021 seems like a questionable choice to be dealt by the Colts. After all, he's their biggest playmaker. However, there are a couple of large factors at play.
As Mosher mentioned, Taylor will be going into a contract year in 2023 and is likely to become the league's highest-paid running back, or at the very least among the top three. That obviously eats up a decent chunk of salary cap space.
As big of a playmaker as Taylor is, the hard truth is that running backs alone don't carry much weight in the difference between winning and losing. Think back two years ago when Taylor had one of the best seasons for an offensive player in franchise history and the Colts didn't even make the playoffs. Taylor was one of the biggest reasons the Colts were in playoff contention in the first place, but it shined a light on running backs being a complementary piece and not being among the most significant elements.
The Colts are in the midst of a head-coaching search and are also expected to use their first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on a quarterback. They already hold the 36th-overall pick, so adding the Rams' 37th pick gives them plenty of ammo to bolster things around this new quarterback-head coach duo.
It may not be likely that the Colts trade Taylor, but it will not be surprising if they receive calls about his availability this offseason.
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