The latest sign of Jonathan Taylor’s trading situation is that Jim Irsay is running things, which remains very bad news for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts look set to squander the career of another superstar, as they respond to Jonathan Taylor’s request for a trade with a Allow to search back Potential business partners interested in landing the former hasty leader. This is not for The level of malpractice and neglect that occurred With the march of Andrew Luck. But she still underscores the most troubling thing about the Colts’ current operation: Owner Jim Irsay is pulling all the strings.

Irsai’s assumption of responsibility is nothing new NFL That the owner liked his football roster and front office will be nothing short of breaking news. But this is no ordinary NFL owner we’re talking about here.

Despite achieving a career success rate of 55 percent during his tenure at Indy, Frank Reich found himself fired after Week 9 of last season by Irsay, who not only proceeded to replace Reich with Jeff Saturday — an ESPN analyst with no more coaching experience than High school. level — but also bragging about Reich’s coaching record during the press conference announcing Saturday’s appointment.

Again, the situation is different for Taylor. But it does symbolize a larger systemic problem for this organization right now. You can trace these issues back to Carson Wentz’s “disaster” in 2021. After a year of making the playoffs with Phillip Rivers, the Colts handed a capital high to the Eagles at the former No. 2 overall pick. The Week 18 egg cost Indy another postseason berth and Irsay carried it over Reich’s head in a very personal way. When the Colts struggled with Matt Ryan under center, he cut the bait.

Since then, it has become clear that IRSAI’s fingerprint is in every decision this organization makes. Anthony Richardson’s fourth overall finish was reasonable but it was clear Irsay gave the front office a firm order to draft a quarterback, no matter who was available. It was also clear that Irsay said he would start Richardson in Week 1 regardless of whether the rookie was ready or not.

Also quite clear? The Colts better take a hard line with Taylor. Ersay recently admitted The organization did not even exchange contract numbers. When Taylor asked for a trade, Irsai made some general comments saying: – It’s completely understandable – that he didn’t do well with his star waning.

“If I die tonight and Jonathan Taylor gets out of the league, nobody will miss us,” Irsay said earlier this season. cross-athlete. “The league goes on. We know that. The National Football League goes on. It doesn’t matter who comes and goes, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

An NFL owner doesn’t have the right to say that about a player of franchise caliber and a former second-round pick on his rookie contract. It is disrespectful and only serves to alienate the players on the list. A Colts owner would be better off spending his time playing the guitar than playing the fiddle fantasy football.

Irsay also noted how the current collective bargaining agreement should prevent these contractual issues: “These days you hope you have fewer contractual issues because of the way the CBA is and they work on a lot of things.” He’s not *wrong* per se, but he’s not right either: The CBA should have no effect on Taylor’s ability to demand a better contract from his employer, it just keeps him from holding out fully. Welcome to the era of Hold IN!

A lengthy diatribe on the subject from Irsay also accidentally provided insight into the thought process of NFL management. Many teams are willing to chew through cheap rookie contracts before exchanging them for someone else with a rookie contract. That’s fine, but then again, there’s no need to repeatedly disrespect Taylor in the process.

Especially when the Colts are trying to groom and develop their rookie quarterback under the tutelage of first year head coach in Shane Steichen. Elite bell running backs would go a long way toward aiding Richardson’s development, especially when Richardson’s running ability underscores and perfectly complements Taylor’s game, while at the same time making life easier for the offensive lineman in a new scheme and system.

Giving Taylor up to a three-year deal (disguised in typical NFL fashion as a five-year deal) with plenty of incentives and guaranteed cash up front over the next two years would align perfectly with Richardson’s rookie contract. If you’re going to spend on a running back, do so while your quarterback is on his starting deal. This is not bad and may be a good deed!

Adding insult to injury is what the Colts want in terms of Taylor compensation. Despite spending the entire offseason telling us the running back position is undervalued and Taylor could be “out of the league” and no one would care or notice, and it would be crazy to pay Taylor big bucks for a long-term deal, Indianapolis He wants a first-round pick in return.

Basically, Irsay spent the entire summer telling Taylor he didn’t deserve what he thought he deserved, and now he’s trying to tell 31 other people. NFL teams Taylor is worth far more than Irsay said he was worth. None of that makes sense, which is quite par for the course in Indianapolis these days.