WESTFIELD, Ind. — The large luxury motor coach was parked adjacent to the practice field, practically in the shadow of the north goal post at Grand Park Sports Campus.
It was Saturday evening, and the Indianapolis Colts were hosting their biggest training camp crowd of the week. Owner Jim Irsay brought with him a busload of friends and associates, who emerged from the vehicle decorated with a custom paint job that includes Colts logos.
Then the show really began.
A Colts staffer was sent to summon running back Jonathan Taylor to meet privately with Irsay on the bus, all with hundreds of onlookers nearby. The two men conversed for an hour before Taylor rejoined his teammates on the practice field.
Meanwhile, the Colts — including quarterback Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in April — tried to put on an entertaining display for their assembled fans. But the drama unfolding just off the field on this night rivaled anything happening between the lines.
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Shortly after the meeting’s conclusion, news leaked that the running back had requested a trade. Taylor, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, had been frustrated with the lack of a contract extension. But he also took offense to disagreements related to the management of his injuries, according to multiple sources.
A feud had been simmering all week with Irsay pushing back against running backs who believe the position is underpaid, saying some agents are selling bad faith. He later told ESPN he was not talking about Taylor. Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa, countered that bad faith is not paying your top offensive player. It was a dramatic and public rift in a relationship that had begun with the Colts trading up to take Taylor 41st overall in the 2020 draft.
Taylor rewarded the team with a 1,169-yard rookie season. He followed with a franchise-record and league-leading 1,811 rushing yards in 2021. Taylor had become the Colts’ single-biggest offensive playmaker in three seasons, his 33 touchdowns since 2020 second only to Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry.
All of which helped explain why Taylor’s current situation has been so surprising. The standoff between Taylor and the Colts threatens to overshadow everything else going on with the team, including hiring coach Shane Steichen and drafting a potential franchise quarterback, and it adds yet another obstacle in the path of a franchise trying to find its way after a 4-12-1 season.
Now, there are mostly just questions: How will the Colts proceed? Can the relationship with Taylor be mended? And, above all, how did a team and its exciting, 24-year-old superstar become embroiled in a very ugly and very public fight?
AFTER SATURDAY’S PRACTICE concluded, Steichen was asked how he is navigating the Taylor saga.
“My obligation as the head coach is to coach the football team,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of guys that I have to coach and get ready to go. That’s how I deal with that.”
Irsay joined reporters on the field a few minutes after meeting with Taylor. It’s a training camp ritual for him to huddle with local media during camp to talk about his excitement for the season. But, this time, Irsay’s 14-minute Q&A session featured a singular topic: Taylor.
Irsay’s media availability further inflamed the situation. While attempting to make the point that no individual is bigger than an organization, he made a comment that some construed as disrespectful to his star player.
“If I die tonight and Jonathan is out of the league, no one’s going to miss us,” Irsay said. “The league rolls on. We know that. The National Football [League], it doesn’t matter who comes and who goes. It’s a privilege to be part of it and now’s the time for us to do our work as an organization.”
Less than an hour later, Taylor’s trade request — which had been made days earlier, according to sources — became public.
Although Irsay said he wouldn’t trade Taylor, the idea has not been totally dismissed at Colts headquarters, according to multiple sources, who said Taylor remains steadfast in his desire to play elsewhere.
Two league executives told ESPN they believe there is a trade market for Taylor. But the list of teams that might be interested isn’t long, they said, and that might limit the amount of compensation the Colts can expect.
Of course, Taylor suiting up for the Colts in 2023 remains a possibility. The team has the upper hand because he’s under contract.