Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard did a press conference on Wednesday, and much of it was related to running back Jonathan Taylor and the fractured relationship between the player and the team. Ballard was asked why the Colts are not paying Taylor at the end of his press conference, and he had a very blunt response.
“We won four games last year,” Chris Ballard said, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
That illustrates the dilemma with the running back position in the NFL nowadays. Front offices are increasingly viewing the running back position as less valuable. We saw it throughout the summer with Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard.
The running back market has collapsed, resulting in the frustrations of Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard. The latter three were franchise tagged, and unable to come to a long-term agreement with their teams.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Taylor this season, and whether or not him and the team can repair their relationship at all.
Taylor will be out for at least the first four games of the season due to remaining on the PUP list. His return would help out rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
The Colts start their season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Taylor would be eligible to return in week 5 of the season against the Tennessee Titans. It will be interesting to see where the Colts stand at that point in the season.