The first calls came well before deadline week, as an NFL rumor. Indianapolis quietly checked corners around the league, including Alontae Taylor and Deonte Banks, before circling back to New York with the kind of offer that moves mountains.
Only after the Colts met a Micah Parsons-style price, two firsts plus a starter, did Sauce Gardner become attainable, and that single decision cascaded through several other negotiations.
League chatter adds another near-deal to the pile. Before Indianapolis finalized its Gardner blockbuster, multiple teams poked at Taylor, and Chicago pushed hardest.
The Bears were deep in talks to acquire the Saints' corner, a clean schematic fit given his time with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans and a timely play for a defender entering a contract year.
NFL sources, as rumors, say discussions stretched into Monday and Tuesday, only to fizzle. Chicago pivoted, and Taylor stayed put while the Bears struck a different trade. The Saints held a valuable expiring asset, the Bears kept their picks, and the Colts’ all-in approach on Gardner effectively closed that chapter.
What it means going forward is straightforward. New Orleans retains a starting-caliber outside corner for a stretch run, with the franchise tag or a multi-year payday looming in March.
Chicago still needs answers at the corner but chose cost certainty on the edge instead, while Indianapolis planted its flag with a premium acquisition that signals belief in the roster right now. The ripple effect from Gardner’s price tag flattened several mid-tier ideas, and Taylor was at the center of one of the most serious.
Chicago’s contingency came quickly. The Bears acquired defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from the Browns, sending a sixth and receiving the edge rusher plus a seventh.
The move followed a gut-punch Achilles injury to Dayo Odeyingbo and a game in which the pass rush could not heat up Joe Flacco. Tryon-Shoyinka is not a star, but he offers immediate snaps and length on the edge for a 5-3 team that hosts the Giants next.
If Taylor hits the market, the courtship will be crowded. For now, the miss underscores how one megadeal can redraw the entire deadline map, even for negotiations that looked close.
