One of the Indianapolis Colts’ biggest rivals could be a landing spot for disgruntled running back Jonathan Taylor.
Over the weekend, Taylor requested a trade from the Colts following a meeting with owner Jim Irsay, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The 2021 rushing champion is entering the final season of his rookie deal.
Matt Lombardo of FanBuzz spoke to several NFL executives on a potential Taylor trade. An NFC scout suggested that the Colts’ longtime rivals, the New England Patriots, could be a landing spot for Taylor:
“Honestly, Taylor could play anywhere. But the Patriots may be a team to watch. He’s a stud player, a stud person, can run, can catch, and he’s even really good in pass protection.”
The Patriots are consistently one of football’s best rushing teams under Bill Belichick. They don’t exactly need Taylor, since they already have a 1,000-yard back in Rhamondre Stevenson.
But as the scout noted, Taylor could also do damage in the passing game and shine as a pass blocker. Those are key attributes Belichick always looks for in running backs, so Taylor would be a good fit there.
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Taylor turned heads as a rookie in 2020 with 1,169 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. In 2021, he led the league in both rushing yards (1,811) and rushing touchdowns (18). Despite missing six games last season, Taylor had 861 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
It’s worth noting that the Colts and Patriots play each other in Week 10 (on Nov. 12) in Frankfurt, Germany. So if Taylor were to get traded to the AFC East club, he wouldn’t have to wait too long for potential vengeance against Indianapolis.
