Jim Irsay holds hour-long bus chat with Jonathan Taylor amid contract and trade requests

WESTFIELD -- Jim Irsay spent close to an hour on a luxury bus parked at the edge of the Colts training camp practices talking to Jonathan Taylor. He didn't want to disclose what the meeting was about, but moments later, everything became clear.

Taylor requested a trade from the Colts, a source confirmed to IndyStar.

This meeting was supposed to be a clearing of the air.

But with how far apart the two sides appear now -- Irsay told IndyStar, "We will not trade Jonathan Taylor. That is a certainty. Not now, or not in October" -- it's fair to wonder exactly what the meeting accomplished.

"I felt a need not to clear the air but that nobody treats their players as well as this franchise," Irsay said of the meeting. "... Everyone knows that no organization -- and I mean no organization -- treats their past or present players like the Colts do. ... I represent each player and it's my responsibility to be fair and to make sure everyone is treated as fairly as can be to get their piece of the cap."

Taylor has spent the past couple months asking for actions to prove these ideas for himself. He first asked for a contract extension that would align with his value as a top-tier running back, which based on current contracts would pay between $12 and $16 million. Then this week, in lieu of not receiving any offer, he asked for a trade.

Irsay has dealt a star running back before, sending Pro Bowler Marshall Faulk to the Rams for second- and fifth-round draft picks following the 1998 season.

But in his 14-minute conversation from a golf cart with local media Saturday, Irsay dug in on how he wants Taylor to play out this season on his rookie contract, which will pay him $4.3 million. He emphasized that so many of his players, including its stars, have to prove themselves after last year's 4-12-1 faceplant.

Taylor appears to be in that same boat in his eyes. After two straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career and a rushing title in 2021, Taylor fell to 861 yards and four touchdowns last season. He dealt with a porous offensive line and a high-ankle sprain for much of the season and ended up missing six games. But he did show he had room to grow as a pass protector and receiver.

Irsay wants to see Taylor develop a run game with Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 pick in this spring's draft. The two, in theory, could form a dynamic duo on zone-read plays given their elite speed and burst. But given Taylor's request and the fact that he hasn't practiced yet while sitting on the Physically Unable to Perform List, it's up to question when anyone will get to see that develop.

"We're looking forward to a great season and hoping Jonathan's a part of that," Irsay said.

But not all of his comments were in a hopeful tone.

"If I die tonight and Jonathan Taylor's out of the league, nobody's going to miss us," Irsay said. "The league goes on. We all know that. The National Football League rolls on. It doesn't matter who comes and who goes, and it's a privilege to be a part of it."

The implicit message to Taylor is that he needs to suit up and play and feel proud to do so. It's not been the message any top running back has been happy to hear lately, though, as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard and Austin Ekeler have all found themselves at odds with their current contract situations as the running back market has frozen. They've all struggled to find much new compensation with names like Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and Kareem Hunt available in free agency.

The reasons for Irsay's stand are less hard to decipher. He continually brought up challenges with the salary cap and made a reference to the 2011 Colts, who had to cut Joseph Addai in order to keep together a collection of talent that included Pro Bowlers Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.

But the current Colts aren't paying veteran players like that at the positions that command high money such as quarterback, left tackle, wide receiver or cornerback. The Colts currently have $19 million in cap space available for 2023 and will have Richardson on a rookie contract for the next five seasons.

His roster isn't completely void of stars, of course, and he was happy to point out a couple of those.

"Both Jonathan and Quenton Nelson, I don't mind saying it, they're two guys who have a legitimate chance of making the Hall of Fame," Irsay said. "But there's a long way to go to get to that. A long way. But the talent is there, and you see the magic and the special talent."

A year ago at this time, Nelson was in the spot Taylor is now entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Colts made it clear that they wanted to get an extension done and did the night before the season began in the form of the biggest contract for a guard in NFL history at four years and $80 million with $60 million guaranteed.

Irsay declined to answer a question about how he can claim to be fair with all players if he won't extend Taylor on the same timeline of an extension as Nelson received, which was the same for center Ryan Kelly, cornerback Kenny Moore II, right tackle Braden Smith, running back Nyheim Hines and linebacker Shaquille Leonard as well.

This spring, Stephon Gilmore requested a trade and the Colts granted it, sending him to the Cowboys for a fifth-round pick.

Irsay was willing to admit his current roster has loads of questions.

"Unless you were on this roster in 2020, you've never played in a playoff game," Irsay said. "There is a lot of road to cover before we can start claiming and getting back to where we have a group of players that are playoff war-torn and ready to win an AFC championship."

None of it was likely what Taylor wanted to hear. He foreshadowed the trade request in June, when he said, "You see why guys request trades." That statement came weeks after he switched agencies to First Round Management, and this week, his agent, Malki Kawa, tweeted "I doubt it" to an NFL.com story about how Irsay hopes he can mend the relationship with Taylor.

The conversation on the bus was about trying to do that solely with words. Irsay has always spoken directly to his star players, and he said he did his best to smooth over the emotions that are clearly running hot.

"I told Jonathan, and I told all players who are here, you guys raised me," Irsay said. "I was 13 years old. You guys told me how to act when I became owner because you were my big brothers."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Irsay holds bus chat with Taylor amid contract, trade requests