Colts, Jonathan Taylor situation came to a head far too late

One of the most stunning aspects of the sudden impasse between the Colts and running back Jonathan Taylor is the fact that the long-simmering situation suddenly blew up in late July. If, as it appears, an issue had been percolating for months, Taylor's camp should have brought it to a head long before now.

Now isn't the time to force a trade. Even if the Colts were inclined to let Taylor seek a trade, who would have the kind of cash and cap space — and need — to make a big move at this stage of the calendar? From the team's perspective, there could be some wisdom in letting agent Malki Kawa try to find someone who will pay Taylor what the Colts won't.

Maybe the money would have been there in March. Regardless, it will be harder to find it now.

Now, Taylor's options are limited. His leverage is minimized. He didn't hold out (he should have). No one knew there was an issue until it all exploded out of the blue last week.

And, yes, it's possible that Kalwa has had a hard time making any real progress on this because of Colts owner Jim Irsay, whose recent tweets and comments seem to be counterproductive, to say the least. But that's part of what needed to be factored into the broader strategy.

Whatever the strategy, it's important to have one. Ideally, it's important to have a good one.

Currently, it seems as if there's no good strategy for getting Taylor his second contract. He's in the building. He can try to hold in by citing his ankle injury from last year, but the Colts seem to be willing to at least hit at the nuclear option of NFI, which would result in Taylor not being paid until he plays (and he'd miss at least six game checks to start the season).

The broader problem is that the Colts have the ability to tag Taylor twice (2024 and 2025) and then walk away, with Taylor never getting a big contract.

Six years and out. Similar to what the Colts once did to running back Edgerrin James, a foundational piece of the great Indy teams of 20 years ago, who was playing for the Cardinals by the time the Colts and Peyton Manning finally got to a Super Bowl.