When the Indianapolis Colts fielded trade offers for star running back Jonathan Taylor ahead of the season, two teams were reported as having the most interest: the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers. Now that the season has started, and things are still rocky between Taylor and the Colts, it’s been reported that Indy could still explore a Taylor trade.
The question naturally becomes: what team is going to trade for Taylor? It’s fair to assume that Miami would re-engage in negotiations, but the Packers seem less likely— they already have two pretty good running backs. Even if Green Bay is out, there could be another team joining the party.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport recently named the Baltimore Ravens as a team to watch. With Baltimore’s starting running back JK Dobbins tearing his Achilles, Rapoport said the Ravens are the type of team that would make a trade like this, even if it means giving up a lot to acquire Taylor and signing him to a big contract.
Baltimore Ravens named as team to watch for Jonathan Taylor
As mentioned, Dobbins ruptured his Achilles in Week 1, and he’ll be out for the season. Baltimore still has Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, and Melvin Gordon. The Ravens will have to decide if they want an elite running back as the main ball carrier, or if they’re comfortable doing a committee approach to run the ball.
A decision doesn’t need to be made soon, as Taylor will be on the PUP list until Week 5. However, it has been reported that he’s currently healthy and could pass a physical. That means he’ll likely be on the field in Week 5, it’s just a matter of what team. The Colts would love for it to be them, as they could definitely use Taylor, but if the running back remains adamant about not playing for the team, and other franchises are willing to trade for Taylor, Indy may have to move him in the coming weeks.