Colts' Jim Irsay Speaks on Jonathan Taylor: 'Excited to Have Him'
Every year during the preseason, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay joins the broadcast team of Greg Rakestraw and Rick Venturi for the duration of a quarter to discuss the outlook for his team.
As the Colts took on the Chicago Bears in their second of three preseason matchups, Irsay hopped into the booth. While the Colts were on their way to a comeback victory over the Bears 24-17, Irsay talked about a myriad of topics.
Irsay, of course, talked about his new quarterback Anthony Richardson and how excited he is to have him as a Colt.
“To say (Richardson's) rare talent wise, isn’t enough," Irsay told Rakestraw and Venturi. "If we would’ve picked first in the draft, we still would’ve taken Anthony Richardson. He’s special.”
The Colts owner, ever the optimist, also talked about the Colts' chances of winning the division and getting back atop the AFC South.
But what caught everyone's attention was when Irsay began speaking on the situation with All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor and the Colts are still at odds over the running back's contract situation. While Taylor wants a new contract and to be paid among the highest in the NFL at his position, the Colts want to wait for Taylor to get healthy and see how he can perform in new head coach Shane Steichen's offense.
Taylor requested a trade back on July 25th during a lengthy conversation with general manager Chris Ballard. While Taylor has not changed his stance and still wants to be traded, Irsay has publicly said the Colts will not honor that request. When talking about his All-Pro running back Saturday night, Irsay made his feelings known about Taylor.
"We're excited to have Jonathan Taylor back," Irsay mentioned. "I know these things are always difficult. I respect any time people are, they're trying to fight for their position, for their families, and all those things. And, you know, I've been around it so long that I just think the biggest thing that I preach is timing is everything."
The timing of Taylor's aggressive approach regarding a contract extension has been puzzling to many. Taylor is still rehabbing his surgically repaired ankle that plagued him throughout the 2022 season. Taylor opted to have surgery on the ankle in January and has not been back on the field since. He is currently on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
For the Colts to even begin talks with Taylor on a contract extension, they want to see him back on the field and playing at 100% again. Until then, the Colts are tabling extension talks. Irsay echoed that on Saturday, expressing optimism about a healthy Taylor returning.
"We're really looking forward to him playing his way into being the Jonathan Taylor he was," Irsay admitted. "And we're really excited to have him and we want to do everything we can to support him and embrace him as a Colt, 'cuase he's a great young man. I can't say enough about him and his family."
Taylor and the Colts have had a great relationship up until this point. In the spring, Taylor talked about playing out the contract that he signed and showing loyalty to the franchise that drafted him in 2020. Taylor also expressed his desire to retire as a Colt someday.
"You look at the past and guys who have shown their value on and off the field tend to stay here," Taylor said in June. "My goal, first season after I got drafted, I'm like, 'I want to retire a Colt.' So hopefully the organization sees that the same, because I do."
Not even two months later, the Colts and Taylor are as far apart as ever. The running back has been away from the team for almost two straight weeks. Taylor spent the last week away from the team with an excused absence to deal with a personal matter. The week before, Taylor spent time at an out-of-state facility to continue rehab on his surgically repaired ankle.
After the game Saturday night, Steichen said Taylor would be rejoining the team on Sunday. The Colts’ head coach did not say when Taylor would practice as he has not yet been medically cleared.
The bottom line is that until Taylor is healthy, contract talks will not proceed. While the Colts would have preferred for the situation to not be as messy as it is, it is not the first time issues have occurred with a contract negotiation. However, the Colts need to work on repairing the relationship with their superstar running back.
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"Look, you have these problems, you know how it is. You never go in with no problems at all," Irsay explained. "These days you hope you have less contractual problems because the way the CBA is and they work a lot of things through. But you have them and that's what I know Chris Ballard is going to work on and try to get the waters as calm as they can and go forward."
Ultimately, Ballard will be the one to sit down with Taylor's representation and hash things out. The general manager echoed the thoughts of the Colts owner in a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL radio.
"I think the world of Jonathan," Ballard said. "He's been a great Colt, been a great player for the Colts. Unfortunately, last year he got hurt early in the season, was dinged all year, fought through it until he finally got to a point where he had to have the surgery. And now he's finishing his rehab process. Hopefully, as we move forward here, we'll get him back. But we need to get him 100% healthy before we do anything."
There is still a long road ahead before a resolution is reached. Although Irsay and Ballard have both expressed their appreciation for Taylor, the Colts will not begin extension talks until he is healthy. But if the two sides want to start working toward that point, concessions need to be made on both sides.
With Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars three weeks away, the clock is ticking. Whether or not the Colts and Taylor can begin coming together will determine if an agreement is to be reached in the future.
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