Monday was a tough day in the NFL for the running back position. It was the deadline for franchise-tagged players to negotiate a long-term deal with their respective teams. The biggest franchise-tagged players this offseason are some of the leagues best running backs. Tony Pollard was franchise tagged by the Dallas Cowboys, Josh Jacobs by the Las Vegas Raiders, and Saquon Barkley by the New York Giants.
Unfortunately, the deadline arrived without a single one of these franchise-tagged running backs receiving a long-term deal. This of course comes with established veteran running backs like Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliot, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt all sitting as available free agents. So in a way, Monday is essentially being viewed as the NFL making a statement on how it values the running back position.
Following the inferred statement, there were a ton of reactions throughout the NFL world. People questioned if kids will want to grow up playing the running back position, and others reprised the idea of a running back union. There was also a reaction from someone more invested in the situation: Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
After it was announced that all three running backs failed to get a new deal, Taylor took to Twitter and simply tweeted “Wow.” This is especially important to Taylor because he’s one of the best running backs in football and he’s entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Wow.
— Jonathan Taylor (@JayT23) July 17, 2023
Colts Jonathan Taylor seemingly discouraged by running back market
This isn’t the first time Taylor has spoken out about the running back market. Earlier in the offseason, during OTAs, Taylor told he media that he’s been disappointed with the recent developments in the running back market, and he can only hope that Indy sees his value, because he’d like to retire with the Colts. Of course, that’ll all depend on what happens over the next year.
Taylor has been exceptional in three years in Indianpolis, becoming arguably the best running back in football. He has literally carried Indy to victories and there’s no denying his value to the team. His contract negotiations will be especially interesting because Chris Ballard and the Colts have a history of paying homegrown players who have delivered on their rookie contracts.
In recent years, Indy gave right tackle Braden Smith a massive contract, and also made Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard the highest-paid players at their positions. It’s in Indy’s nature for the same to happen for Jonathan Taylor, however, that would contradict the direction that the league, as a whole, is going with running backs. So what will be the fate for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts.