The Indianapolis Colts and star running back Jonathan Taylor appear to have a strained relationship after contract negotiations between the two went sideways. Colts general manager Chris Ballard discussed the situation on Tuesday, sending Taylor a clear message in the process.
Taylor made it clear that he wants to get paid by requesting a trade from the Colts’ organization last month. He has been away from the team rehabbing an ankle injury that has plagued him this offseason, but returned to Colts training camp earlier this week.
Even though he is back in training camp, it still seems like Taylor wants to be traded with his rookie contract set to expire at the end of the season and no clear extension for Taylor in Indianapolis.
Ballard discussed Taylor’s trade request on Tuesday, making it clear that he values Taylor greatly as a key player to this Colts offense.
“I think the world of Jonathan (Taylor),” said Ballard during an appearance on SiriusXM Radio. “He has been a great player for the Colts. Unfortunately, he got hurt early in the season and was dinged all year. He finally got to the point where he had to have this surgery. And now he is finishing his rehab process. So hopefully moving forward we will get him back, but we need to get him 100 percent healthy before we do anything.”
.@Colts GM Chris Ballard on RB Jonathan Taylor.
"I think the world of Jonathan."
📻 https://t.co/CPvgvlaIn3#NFLTrainingCamp | #Colts | #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/IfqKJB6vge
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 15, 2023
Ballard didn’t really address the potential trade talks around Taylor. But he certainly sounds like he would ideally love to have Taylor around for the foreseeable future.
