Jonathan Taylor's agent fires back at Colts owner Jim Irsay over running back comments

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is entering the final year of his rookie contract. And a new deal may be at an impasse after the war of words spilled from the negotiating table onto social media Wednesday night.

Colts owner Jim Irsay took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his dismay. And he was quickly met with a response from Taylor’s representation.

“NFL Running Back situation — We have negotiated a CBA, that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides ... to say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact, is inappropriate. Some Agents are selling 'bad faith'.." Irsay wrote in a tweet.

"Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player," Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa of First Round Management, wrote in response.

Taylor is scheduled to make $4,304,000 during the 2023 season. And because Taylor was a second-round pick, he’s not subject to a fifth-year team option that first-round picks can get under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.

How good has Jonathan Taylor been for the Colts?

Taylor was a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection during the 2021 season, when he was the NFL’s rushing leader.

Taylor led the NFL with 1,811 yards rushing, 18 rushing touchdowns and a 106.5 yards per game average. Taylor’s 20 total touchdowns and 2,171 yards from scrimmage also led the league.

Taylor finished second behind Rams receiver Cooper Kupp for Offensive Player of the Year.

How Jonathan Taylor's ankle injury could complicate things

Taylor, who suffered an ankle injury that limited him to 11 games last season, was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list as the Colts began training camp this week.

“We want to make sure he’s 100 percent healthy,” Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Wednesday. “And when he is, he’ll be back out there.”

Taylor told NFL.com he had an arthroscopic debridement of his ankle in January. The procedure, considered minimally invasive to clean out debris, was deemed successful. Taylor added no structural damage was found during the procedure.

“That thing had a bunch of junk in there from a bunch of years,” Taylor said with a laugh to NFL.com.

Taylor’s statistics took a considerable dip after he suffered the ankle injury in Week 4. He rushed for 861 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

The Colts, who fired Frank Reich and hired interim coach Jeff Saturday, also positioned themselves to land the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, which resulted in new starting quarterback Anthony Richardson.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Taylor's agent has strong response for Colts owner Jim Irsay